392 
REVIEWS. 
The Carnivorous animals are proportionately more numerous in La 
Plata—the Jaguar ( Felis onca) occurring on the hanks of the great 
rivers of the Eastern provinces—the Puma ( Felis concolor) being abun¬ 
dant in the southern, western, and north-western districts, and being 
everywhere the largest and best known beast of prey. Two other 
species of true Felis are also met with in the Eepublic. Felis geof- 
froyi —the “ Gato montese” of the natives—is generally distributed 
from Tucuman southwards, wherever bushes are found to give it 
shelter, and is known to range as far as the Eio Negro in Patagonia, 
where d’Orbigny obtained specimens of it. Felis payeros- —the “ Gato 
de las Pampas” of the natives—a little Cat representing our Felis catus 
—was not obtained by Dr. Burmeister, but there is no doubt of its 
occurrence in the open Pampas near Buenos Ayres. If La Plata is 
only moderately provided as regards Eeline animals, we must allow 
that it is better stocked as regards Canines, no less than five feral 
Dogs being commonly met with in the Eepublic, two of which are 
considered by Dr. Burmeister to belong to undescribed species. 
All the South American Canidce are referable, as Dr. Burmeister has 
already shown in his Illustrations of the Eauna of Brazil, # to the 
same section as that which contains the Wolves and Jackals ; no true 
Eox (of the subgenus Vulpes) having been as yet discovered there. 
Amongst the Canes of La Plata are representatives of all the three 
sections into which Dr. Burmeister has divided the South American 
members of this group, according to characters drawn from the forms 
of the skull and teeth. These are C.jubatus of Desmarest of the 
section Chrysocyon, found on the banks of the rivers near water; 
C. entrerianus, a new species of the section Lycalopex , apparently 
peculiar to the province of Entrerios, isolated in form as in local 
position by the two great rivers, which form the natural boundaries 
of that province; and C. magellanicus , G. azarce and C. gracilis (sp. 
nov.) of the section Fseudalopex. Of these Canis magellanicus inhabits 
the valleys of the Cordilleras, being common near Mendoza. C. azarce 
occurs only in the most eastern region of the Eepublic in the province 
of Buenos Ayres, and C. gracilis (the “ Zorro ” of the natives) was 
discovered by Dr. Burmeister in the bushes of the Pampas near 
Mendoza, where it preys upon birds and small Eodents. The remain¬ 
ing Carnivores of La Plata consist of two JKustelince of the genus 
Galictis ( G. vittata and G. barbura ), a single Skunk (Mephitis pat ago- 
nica) both these being of genera peculiar to America, an Otter 
(Lutra paranensis ) and a Coati-Mondi (Nasud) probably the same 
as the JSFasua solitaria of Brazil. 
Of the peculiar American family of Marsupials, the Didelphyidce, 
of which such an admirable account is given in Dr. Burmeister’s 
before-mentioned “ Erlauterungen,” only two species were met with 
in La Plata, namely F>. azarce and T). elegans. S. E. Brazil, as we 
* Erlauterungen zur Fauna Brasiliens. Fol. Berlin, 1856. 
