356 NOTES ON THE CANID.E OF THE WHITE RIVER OLIGOCENE. 



The second metatarsal is much longer and stouter than the first, but it is much 

 shorter and weaker than mt. ii in Canis, and rather resembles that of the viverrine genus 

 Gynogale, though it does not have the peculiar shape of the proximal end which charac- 

 terizes that genus. In Dinictis mt. ii is somewhat heavier than in Daphcenus, but is other- 

 wise similar. In the latter the proximal end of mt. ii rises considerably above the level 

 of mt. i and hi, owing to the shortness, proximo-distally, of the mesocuneiform, and is 

 firmly wedged in between the ento- and ectocuneiforms, an arrangement common to all fami- 

 lies of the fissipedes and already general among the creodonts. On the fibular side is a 

 wedge-shaped projection which is received into a corresponding depression on mt. iii, 

 thus making a very firm and close connection between the two bones. Above this pro- 

 jection are two facets for the tibial side of the ectocuneiform, one near the dorsal border 

 and the other on the plantar projection. The shaft is straighter than in Canis, but is 

 slightly arched dorsally, the distal end not curving toward the tibial side, as it does in 

 the modern genus. In section the shaft is transversely oval, while in the recent dogs it 

 has become trihedral for most of its length, owing to its close approximation to the shaft 

 of mt. iii. The distal trochlea resembles that of Dinictis and differs from that of Canis 

 in its more spheroidal and less cylindrical shape, and in its demarcation from the 

 shaft by a deep depression ; the lateral ligamentous processes are likewise more symmetri- 

 cally developed. 



The third metatarsal is much longer and stouter than the second, the difference 

 between the two being greater than in Dinictis or the viverrines, or even than in Canis. 

 The proximal end bears a facet for the ectocuneiform, of the usual shape, but the plantar 

 prolongation of this facet is shorter and broader than in the last-named genus, and it 

 resembles that of J)ini<-tis in being oblique to the long axis of the bone, inclining 

 decidedly toward the tibial side of the foot. The tibial side of this facet is deeply incised 

 to receive the wedge-shaped prominence of mt, ii, an incision which does not appear in 

 the recent dogs, but occurs, though somewhat less conspicuously, in Dinictis. On the 

 fibular side are two facets for mt. iv ; one near the dorsal border, which is a deep 

 spherical pit, and the other a small, plane surface placed upon the plantar j)rolongation 

 of the head. The shaft, when viewed from the front, appears quite straight, but when 

 looked at from the side is seen to have a slight curvature toward the dorsal side. The 

 distal end displays the same differences from Canis as do the other metatarsals. 



The fourth metatarsal forms a symmetrical pair with the third, very much as it does 

 in the recent dogs and eats, though in Daphamus they are relatively shorter and weaker. 

 In Canis these two metatarsals are closely pressed together for most of their length, and 

 their shafts have thus acquired a more or less trihedral section, with the approximate 

 surfaces flattened, while the distal ends curve away from each other, somewhat as in 



