255 



Mamin., p. 125) states, "Until proof to the contrary is forth- 

 coming, we shall consider the honour of being the original 

 progenitor of our domestic favourite as due to the Australian 

 Warrigal." 



(3) It has been claimed that the Dingo is a wild, true 

 species of Can/s which came to Australia, unaided by and 

 unassociated with man, by a land route which has ceased to 

 exist. Lucas and Le Souef (Animals of Australia, pp. 9-14) 

 assert, "We must conclude that the Dingo reached this con- 

 tinent without the aid of man"; he "wandered into Aus- 

 tralia when the land bridge existed where Torres Strait is 

 now." The same view is expressed by Dr. R. L. Jack, who 

 says (Geol. Pal. Q'land, 1892, p. 623), "The Dingo arrived 

 by some chance means of conveyance without assistance, or 

 he may have simply walked overland." 



(4) It has been urged that the Dingo is a domesticated 

 dog, which, as the companion of man (in the form of the 

 Australian aboriginal), came to Australia from the north by 

 a land bridge. 



(5) It has been argued that the Dingo is a domesticated 

 dog which came in with the Australian aboriginal, not by a 

 land bridge, but by a sea route. 



(6) It has been said to "owe its introduction to early 

 Malay settlers from Asia" (Aflalo. Nat. Hist. Austr., p. 6). 



(7) The Dingo has been said to be a domesticated dog 

 introduced by Dutch navigators. Mr. J. Neil McGilp (South 

 Australian Naturalist, vol. ii., No. 3, p. 59) states, "Most 

 people, I believe, think that the Dingo was introduced by 

 Dutch navigators into the Northern Territory." How wide- 

 spread this belief may be I do not know. 



[B] The antiquity of the Dingo in "Australia has been 

 very variously estimated : — 



(1) It has been said to date from the Pliocene. McCoy 

 (op. cit.) states, "Our present species, although still living 

 in great numbers, I have no doubt dates from the Pliocene 

 Tertiary time." 



(2) It has been claimed as "one of the most ancient of 

 the living Australian land mammals" by Lucas and Le Souef. 



(3) On the other hand, it is said to be no older than the 

 period of the Dutch navigators. 



[C] Strangely enough, although it is easy to find specu- 

 lations concerning the zoological affinities of the Dingo, it is 

 a difficult matter to discover exactly what points authors 

 have relied on for their determinations. So far, I have been 

 unable to trace among the writings of those who have specu- 

 lated on the status of the Dingo, any indications of precise 



