462 



CAMS. 



XII. NOTE ON THE REMAINS OF A HY^NOID 

 WOLF FEOM SPRITSAIL-TOE CAVE. 1 



July 21, 1862. — Came with Colonel Wood to compare the lower jaw 

 of the Hysenoid Wolf from ' Spritsail-Tor,' with the collections of recent 

 species in the Osteological department of the British Museum. 



This specimen consists of the greater part of the left ramus entire on 

 the incisive border of symphysis, but the whole of the coronoid, condyle, 

 and angular process wanting. There is also a fissure running from 

 behind forwards into the ramus, below the carnassial, the bone at this 

 part being wanting ; but the inferior contour, nearly as far back as the 

 angle, is pprfect. The specimen contains in situ the four anterior 

 molars quite perfect ; the carnassial is also present, but the two tuber- 

 culars had dropped out, the fangs of the anterior one being shown ; the 

 canine and incisors had also dropped out. The alveolus of the canine 

 is of very large size. (See PI. XXXVI. figs. 1 and 2.) 



The following are the dimensions as compared with a large European 

 Wolf, with the Canis occidentalis of N. America, and with the Lycaon 

 venaticus (or Canis pictus of De Blainville) : — 



With reference to the above comparative measurements, it is to be 

 remarked, that in the American Wolf (Cants occidentalis) the premolars 

 are very loosely set together, while in the three other forms they are 

 compact. The striking difference of the fossil from the American and 

 European Wolves is, that the last premolar has a small cusp in front of 

 the large middle cusp, with two serratures behind it ; this anterior 

 cusp, or serrature, is entirely wanting both in European and N. 

 American Wolves, fossil and recent, while it is very pronounced in the 



1 This note is from an entry in one of the author's Note-books. — [Ed.] 



