NOTES ON THE CANIDE OF THE WHITE RIVER OLIGOCENE. 387 
The third metacarpal, though short and slender,-is somewhat the longest and heay- 
iest of the series. The proximal articular surface for the magnum is shaped very much 
as in Canis, but is slightly broader in proportion and rather more concave transversely ; 
on the radial side of the head is a large facet for me ii, which has a more oblique 
position than in the modern genus. On the ulnar side is a small projection which 
abuts against the unciform and is relatively larger than in Canis. The shaft, and 
indeed the whole metacarpal, has a viverrine rather than a canine appearance ; it has not 
acquired the prismatic, quadrate shape which is so characteristic of the modern dogs, 
but is of oval section and is of almost uniform width throughout, but broadens slightly 
at the distal end. The distal trochlea, though much lower in the vertical diameter, is 
yet of decidedly more canine character than is that of Daphenus, being broad and hemi- 
cylindrical in shape instead of subspherical. The pit above the trochlea, which is absent 
in Daphenus, is distinctly marked and the lateral processes for ligamentous attachment 
are much less prominent. All of these conditions are approximations to the conditions 
seen in Canis. 
The fourth metacarpal is not completely preserved in any of the specimens, but. it 
appears to have been of about the same length as me iii and to have formed with it a 
symmetrical pair, although the two metacarpals are not so closely appressed as in Canis, 
but diverge slightly toward the distal end. The head has a simply convex facet for the 
unciform and is somewhat narrower proportionately than in the existing members of the 
Canidae, owing to the overlapping of the head by me ii, in order to reach the unciform. 
So far as it is preserved, the shaft is rather more slender than that of me i and of a 
more cylindrical, less compressed shape. 
The fifth metacarpal is remarkably short, much more so in proportion to the length 
of me ii than is that of Canis. The head is less broadened and thickened than in the 
latter genus, and carries a simple, convex facet for the unciform. In the modern genus 
there is likewise a large facet for the pyramidal, which extends down over the unciform 
and comes into contact with me y. In Cynodictis there appears to be a facet of a simi- 
lar kind, but if so, it is very small and obscurely marked and may be regarded as in only 
an incipient stage of development. The shaft is slender proximally and broadens dis- 
tally, the reverse of the proportions which obtain in Canis, and the distal trochlea is 
small and is of somewhat more spherical, less cylindrical, shape than in the existing 
members of the family. 
The phalanges. It is unfortunate that in all of the specimens in the collection the 
phalanges are in such a fragmentary state that only an incomplete account of them can 
be given, and some important questions must be left unanswered for the present. The 
proximal phalanx of one of the median digits is short, slender and straight, and is rela- 
