CANIS DINGO, Blumenb. 
The Ding’o, 
Cams Dingo, Blumenb. — Shaw, vol. i pi. 76. — Gray, List of Spec, of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 57. 
familiaris, var. Australasia, Desm. — Benn. Gard. and Menag. of Zool. Soc. del., vol. i. p. 51, with fig. 
Chrysaus Australia, Lieut. -Col. Hamilton Smith in Jard. Nat. Lib. Dogs, vol. i. p. 188. pi. 10. 
“ Whether the numberless breeds of dogs, which are the companions of the human race in every region of 
the globe, were originally descended from one common stock, and owe their infinite varieties solely to their 
complete domestication, the modifications by which they are distinguished having been gradually produced 
by the influence of circumstances, — whether, on the contrary, they are derived from the intermixture of dif- 
ferent species, now so completely blended together as to render it impossible to trace out the line of their 
descent, — and whether on either supposition the primaeval race or races still exist in a state of nature, are 
questions which have baffled the ingenuity of the most celebrated naturalists. Theory after theory has been 
advanced, and the problem is still as eagerly debated as ever, and with as little probability of arriving at a 
satisfactory conclusion. In the investigation of this difficult subject, however, as in the search after the 
philosopher’s stone, many curious facts have been brought to light which would otherwise in all probability 
have remained buried in obscurity ; and the causes which are continually operating to produce a gradual 
change of character, both in outward form and in intellectual capacity, among the brute creation, have 
received considerable elucidation. It is thus that theories, however erroneous in themselves, are frequently 
made subservient to the advancement of science, by the important facts which are incidentally developed by 
their authors in the ardour of their zeal for the establishment of a favourite hypothesis.” 
Such are the words of the late Edward Turner Bennett at the commencement of his paper on the history 
of the Dingo in “ The Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society delineated.” Agreeing with Mr. 
Bennett in the impossibility of arriving at a satisfactory conclusion on the subject, I feel that I cannot close the 
present work without giving a figure and description of an animal which forms so prominent a feature in the 
fauna of Australia. It may be expected also that I should myself have formed some opinion as to its claim to be 
regarded as indigenous or otherwise ; and if this opinion should be at variance with those of some Australian 
zoologists who have lately written on the subject, I may state that it has not been formed without due con- 
sideration. Without going into the probable origin of this particular race of dogs, or offering reasons why 
it should not be considered as indigenous, I may briefly state that I believe it has followed the black man in 
his wanderings from Northern Asia through the Indian Islands to Australia, the southern portion of which 
country appears to he its boundary in this direction ; for I believe it has never been found in Van Diemen’s 
Land in the wild or semi-wild state in which it occurs on the Australian continent. From what I saw of 
the animal in a state of nature, I could not hut regard it in the light of a variety to which the course of 
ages had given a wildness of air and disposition ; indeed it appeared to have all the habits of a skulking 
low-bred dog, and none of the determined air and ferocity of disposition of the wolf or jackal : in 
confirmation of this opinion, I may cite the facility with which the natives bring it under subjection, 
and the parti-colouring of its hairy coat ; for although the normal colouring is red or reddish sand- 
colour ; black, or black and white, individuals are not unfrequently seen ; and that this variation in 
the colouring is not due to crossing with the domesticated races introduced when the country was first 
discovered, is proved by the following passage in the Appendix to “ Collins’s Voyage,” a work published 
soon after the colonization of New South Wales, where he says, “ the dogs of this country are of 
the jackal species ; they never bark, are of two colours, the one red, with some white about it, the other 
black : some of them were very handsome.” The existence of parti-coloured Dingos is still further confirmed 
by Mr. Gilbert’s note on the animal, as observed by him in Western Australia: “The Dingo is very 
common over all parts of this colony. There are a very great number of varieties, varying from reddish 
brown to black, white, light brown, and black and white.” Now, on the other hand, it may be affirmed 
that late geological discoveries will set aside the idea of its being a mere variety and tend to prove that this 
dog existed in Australia even prior to the aborigines ; for it is said that a skeleton of a Dingo has been 
discovered at Warnamborl, beneath a bed of volcanic ash ; but I believe no fossil remains have yet reached 
this country. The following letter on the subject has been kindly transmitted to me by Mr. Gerard Krefft, 
a gentleman to whom I am indebted for a beautiful drawing of the head, and an entire figure of the animal 
sketched either from life or immediately after it was killed : — 
“ In reply to your inquiry about the Australian Native Dog, I beg to state that it is proved without a 
doubt, as far as my own judgment goes, that the Dingo is an original inhabitant of the Australian continent. 
“ There is now, at the Museum in Melbourne, a fossil skull, found with other animal remains in a cave at 
