MAMMALIA. 89 
Canis LAG. var. 6. FULIGINOSUS. Sooty Fox. 
Canis Lagopi varietas. Patxas, glives,p.12. An. 1778. 
Sooty Deg. Pennant, Hist. Quad., vol. i. p. 257. 
Kernektak. Fasricitus, Fauna Grenl.,p.20. An. 1790. 
Canis fuliginosus. SuHaw, Zool., vol. i. p. 331. 
Blue Fox (and Canis fuliginosus.) MacxkrnziE’s Travels in Iceland, p. 337. 
Le chien brun. DrEsmMareEst, Mamm. in nolis, p. 205. 
Tree-innceuck-kannortoot (black foxes.) EsQquiMaux. 
This is evidently a mere variety of the Arctic fox, similar to the black variety of 
the red fox, although more common. It has the form and stature of the Arctic 
fox, and may be easily distinguished from the black or silver fox of commerce, by 
its round ears, and its very inferior fur. It differs from the ordinary summer 
or winter states of the Arctic fox, in being almost entirely of an uniform blackish- 
brown colour. 
DESCRIPTION. 
One killed on Winter Island, in lat. 66°, on the 16th December, had the longest and 
darkest fur on the belly, the colour there being black with a slight tinge of brown. The face, 
from a sprinkling of short white hairs, was hoary, and there were a very few white hairs on 
the back, not sufficient, however, to vary the colour, unless on close inspection. The whole 
fur on the body was long, had a considerable lustre, and when blown inside, exhibited a 
bright ash-grey colour towards its roots. The fur on the soles of the feet was of a grayish- 
white colour, and as bushy as on the feet of the white variety in the winter time. The claws 
were of the same size and colour as those of the pure white variety, and differed in form from 
those of the red fox. This individual had attained the full size of the Arctic fox. 
On Captain Franklin’s last Expedition, similar specimens were seen in the summer near 
the mouth of the Mackenzie. A specimen procured by Captain Beechey in Behring’s 
Straits, differed merely in having longer and finer fur, of a pure chestnut colour, without any 
admixture of white hairs. The face was yellowish-brown, with a white margin to the upper 
lip. The rounded ears were covered with silky fur on each side, and with shorter and paler 
fur on the margins. The fur on the tail was coarser, woolly, curled, and somewhat matted, 
and of a dull yellowish-brown, altogether very unlike the silky brush of the black variety of 
Canis fulous. The tip of the tail in this specimen was of the same colour with the rest of it. 
The anterior surfaces of the legs were covered with yellowish-brown fur, forming a smooth 
shining coat, and the soles with dense yellowish-white, woolly hair. 
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