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



eral and less inferior in position, and is bounded above by a distinct crest ; the antero- 

 inferior, or maxillary, process is shorter, and the ascending, or frontal, process is narrower, 

 but extends farther upward along the margin of the orbit. As a whole, the zygomatic 

 arch is of nearly the same proportionate length as in Canis latrans, but has a straighter 

 fore-and-aft course, being much less strongly arched upward, though curving outward 

 quite as decidedly from the side of the skull. This comparative shortness of the arch, 

 in association with the very elongate cranium, is due to the anterior position of the zygo- 

 matic process • of the squamosal, which is placed much farther in advance of the occi- 

 pital condyle than in the recent members of the family. 



The lachrymal forms but a very small portion of the anterior rim of the orbit and 

 carries a rudimentary spine. Within the orbit the bone is relatively more extended and 

 occupies a more elevated position than in the modern dogs, while the ascending or fron- 

 tal process is much shorter ; the lachrymal foramen is large and is farther removed from 

 the frontal suture. 



The nasals are short, narrow and slender, splint-like bones, which are convex trans- 

 versely and very slightly concave autero-posteriorly ; their general shape is much the 

 same as in Valpes, except for the much less distinct fore-and-aft concavity and their lesser 

 elongation. 



The premaxillaries are small ; the alveolar portion is weak, in correspondence with 

 the smallness of the incisors, and is not produced anteriorly in the spout-like form which 

 characterizes Daphcenus ; the groove for the reception of the inferior canine is much less 

 deeply incised than in the latter. The ascending ramus is long and slender, but forms a 

 wider strip upon the side of the muzzle than in the last-named genus. The anterior narial 

 opening is small, oval in shape and more oblique in position than in either Cards or Vul- 

 pes. The palatine processes of the premaxillaries are short and very narrow, and the 

 incisive foramina are small. This portion of the palate has an entirely different appearance 

 from that found in Daphcenus ; the premaxillaries are not nearly so much extended in 

 front of the canines, the incisive foramina are shorter and have no such grooves extending 

 forward from them ; the spines are very slender and much shorter, reaching only to the 

 canines and not to the line of p A, as they do in the larger genus. In most of these 

 respects Daphcenus is nearer to Canis and Vulpes than is Cynodictis. 



The maxillaries are relatively very short, much shorter than in the existing genera, 

 a statement which especially applies to the facial or preorbital portion. At the same 

 time the vertical height is proportionately great. Except for the swelling produced by 

 the root of the canine, the facial surface of the maxillary is simply convex, there being- 

 no distinctly marked fovea maxillaris. Owing to the shortness and height of the facial 

 portion, its superior and anterior margin, formed by the sutures with the frontal, nasal 

 and premaxillary, is more strongly curved and descends much more steeply in front than 



