MAMMALIA. 



11 



The hairs of the head are annulated with white, and fulvous, and are black at 

 the tip ; the two former colours are most conspicuous. The chin is brownish. 

 The lower part of the cheeks, the throat, and the under parts of the body, are 

 of a dirty yellowish white colour, inclining to buff in certain parts, especially 

 on the lower part of the neck and chest. The limbs are of a rich deep fulvous, 

 or yellowish rust colour externally ; the feet and inner sides of the legs are of 

 a paler hue. On the hinder legs externally, above the heel, is a patch of 

 bright rust colour ; such is also the colour of the ears externally, and likewise 

 of that portion of the neck behind the ears. Internally the ears are furnished 

 with long yellowish white hairs. The tail is long and very bushy ; at its 

 base the hairs are rusty white, towards the middle they are of a paleish rust 

 colour, and at the apex they are black; there is also a black patch on the 

 upper part towards the base. The hairs of the tail beneath are almost entirely 

 of an uniform rusty white colour, those on the upper side are all tipped with 

 black. 



Length from nose to root of tail . 

 to base of car 

 of tail (hair included) 



In. 



. 31 



6 

 . 17 



Lines. 





 9 







Habitat, Chile. (June.) 







Length of ear 



Height of body at the shoulders 



In. Lines. 



2 

 14 6 



" This animal was first brought to Europe by Captain Philip P. King, who 

 obtained it at Port Famine in Tierra del Fuego, where it is common. My speci- 

 men was obtained in the valley of Copiapo in the northern part of Chile. The Ma- 

 gellanic fox, therefore, has a range on the western coast of at least 1600 miles, 

 from the humid and entangled forests of Tierra del Fuego, to the almost absolutely 

 desert country of northern Chile. In La Plata, on the Atlantic side of the continent, 

 I believe it is not found.* It is mentioned by Molina in his account of the 

 animals of Chile, t under the name of Culpeu, which he supposes to be derived from 

 the Indian word " culpem," signifying madness ; for this animal, when it sees a 

 man, runs towards him, and standing at the distance of a few yards, looks at him 

 attentively. He adds, although great numbers are killed, they do not leave off 

 this habit. Molina states that he has repeatedly been a witness of this, and I 

 received nearly similar accounts from several of the inhabitants of Chile : yet I 

 must observe, that the people of the farm-house, where my specimen was killed 



* Azara has not described this animal, which circumstance alone would render it probable that it is not an 

 inhabitant of Paraguay or La Plata. The two Foxes mentioned by him are the Aguara-guaza, (JJanis jubatus, 

 Auct.) a very large kind of fox (a strangely exaggerated description of this animal is given by Falkner) of which 

 I could not obtain a specimen ; and the Aguara-chay, or Canis Azaras. 



t Molina, Compendio de la Historia del Reyno de Chile, vol. i. p. 330 and 332. 



c 2 



