ON THE WOLF OF NIPPON. 9 
lent to me by Prof. R. Hartmann. The Museum authorities 
received it in 1877, with some other skulls of Japanese Mammalia 
collected by Dr. Dénitz in Nippon, although I am unable to state 
whether he actually procured it himself. 
With regard to the cranial bones, their general appearance 
as well as the condition of the teeth show that this skull un- 
doubtedly belonged to a wild animal, and not to any domesticated 
one. The profile is prolonged, the forehead being remarkably 
flat, the parietal crista distinctly and prominently developed in 
its posterior portion. ‘The malar bones are widely separated, 
indicating very strong muscles for the purpose of mastication. 
The upper incisors and the upper premolars are considerably 
worn, whilst the corresponding teeth of the lower jaw and all the 
molars present but slight traces of having been used. Without 
going into a detailed description, I merely wish to state that this 
skull of a Japanese Wolf is much smaller than some full-grown 
wild living specimens of the common European Wolf. The total 
length amounts to 213 mm., the length of the base from the 
anterior edge of the occipital foramen to the point between the 
middle incisors only 185 mm.; the upper sectorial tooth has a 
length of 22°5 mm.; both the upper molars, 23 mm.; the lower 
sectorial tooth, 25°55 mm. The extreme width of the skull 
measured across the malar bone is 123 mm. 
On comparing these dimensions with those of some typical 
specimens of Canis lupus,* it will be found that they are per- 
ceptibly inferior, although I found them to accord somewhat with 
some full-grown specimens of the Indian Wolf, Canis pallipes 
(= Lupus pallipes, Gray). For instance, the sagittal suture in 
the skull of an old male of the last-mentioned species + measures 
214 mm.; the basicranial axis 190 mm.; the width between 
the zygomatics, 126 mm.; the upper sectorial tooth, 22 mm.; 
the lower one, 24 mm.; and both the other tuberculated teeth, 
#2°'4mm. Again, the skull of Canis pallipes is somewhat larger 
than that of the Japanese Wolf, but the dentition is rather more 
feeble. 
* Compare my detailed measurements of the skulls of two wolves (ma'e 
and female) from Gallicia; Sitzgsber. d. Gesell. naturf. Freunde in Berlin, 
Nov. 18th, 1884. 
+ Zool. Coll. of the Agricult. College at Berlin, No. 1210 of the 
Nathusius Collection, 
