34 CLASS-BOOK OF iOOLOGY. 



em parts of the Old and New World. Its fur is valuable 

 to furriers. 



5 96. The Arctic Fox (Canis Lagopus) is white, and 

 an inhabitant of the highest northern latitudes of America 

 and Asia. Its fur is excellent. 



§ 97. The Silver Fox (Canis argentatus) is of a lus- 

 trous black color, very rare, and found in Oregon and 

 farther north. Its fur is considered so precious that a 

 fine skin of a Labrador silver fox has been sold in Lon- 

 don for five hundred dollars. 



.§ 98. The Gray Fox (Canis cineres-argentatus) is very 

 common in Pennsylvania and other surrounding States. 



\ 99. The Swift Fox (Canis velox) is the smallest fox, 

 of a reddish-gray color, and called so on account of its 

 extraordinary swiftness. 



^ 100. The Jackal (Canis aureus) is of the size of a 

 small dog, and of a dirty yellow color. It is found in 

 Transcaucasia, as well as in Africa, where it prowls in 

 troops, eats gazelles and other animals, and digs up dead 

 bodies. As it can be easily tamed, and has the same dis- 

 position as the dog, it may be considered as the original 

 stock of the dog. 



§ 101. The Striped Hyena (Hyaena striata) differs 

 from the canine race, having only four nails on each foot, 

 a rough tongue, and a short tail. It is of the size of a 

 large dog, gray, with brown stripes, and is an inhabitant 

 of Asia and Africa. Its den is underground or in the 

 cavities of rocks ; it is very fierce and fond of dead bodies, 

 which it digs up. It is frequently seen in menageries. 



§ 102. The Spotted Hyena (Hyasna crocuta) is much 

 larger than the striped. It is met with in great numbers 

 in Abyssinia, and thence southward as far as the Cape of 

 Good Hope. It has the same habits as the striped hyena, 

 and is also often seen in menageries. 



§ 103. The genus Weasel (Mustek) is distinguished 

 from the other carnivorous animals by having a head like 

 a fox, a tall, thin, and stretched body, a tail like a cat, and 

 a smooth tongue. 



§ 104. They destroy poultry and birds, and make war 

 against rats, mice, and even serpents. 



