Part 4

The most aberrant representative of the thooid series is the African hunting-dog (_Lycaon pictus_, fig. 5), which differs from the other members of this series by the teeth being rather more massive and rounded, the skull shorter and broader, and the presence of but four toes on each limb, as in _Hyena_. The hunting-dog, from south and east Africa, is very distinct externally from all other _Canidae_; being nearly as large as a mastiff, with large, broadly ovate erect ears and a singular colouring, often consisting of unsymmetrical large spots of white, yellow and black. It presents some curious superficial resemblances to _Hyena crocuta_, perhaps a case of mimetic analogy, and hunts its prey in large packs. Several local races, one of which comes from Somaliland, differing in size and colour, are recognized (see HUNTING-DOG). Nearly related to the hunting-dog are the dholes or wild dogs of Asia, as represented by the Central Asian _Cyan primaevus_ and the Indo-Malay _C. javanicus_. They have, however, five front-toes, but lack the last lower molar; while they agree with _Lycaon_ and _Speothos_ in that the heel of the lower sectorial tooth has only a single compressed cutting cusp, in place of a large outer and a smaller inner cusp as in _Canis_. Dholes are whole-coloured animals, with short heads; and hunt in packs. The bush-dog (_Speothos_, or _Icticyon venaticus_) of Guiana is a small, short-legged, short-tailed and short-haired species characterized by the molars being only (2 or 1)/2; the carnassial having no inner cusp. The long-haired raccoon-dog (_Nyctereutes procyonoides_) of Japan and China agrees essentially in everything but general appearance (which is strangely raccoon-like) with _Canis_. The typical group of the latter includes some of the largest members of the family, such as the true wolves of the northern parts of both Old and New Worlds (_C. lupus, &c._), and the various breeds of the domestic dog (_C. familiaris_), the origin of which is still involved in obscurity. Some naturalists believe it to be a distinct species, descended from one that no longer exists in a wild state; others have sought to find its progenitors in some one of the wild or half-wild races, either of true dogs, wolves or jackals; while others again believe that it is derived from the mingling of two or more wild species or races. It is probably the earliest animal domesticated by man, and few if any other species have undergone such an extraordinary amount of variation in size, form and proportion of limbs, ears and tail, variations which have been perpetuated and increased by careful selective breeding (see DOG). The dingo or Australian dog is met with wild, and also as the domestic companion of the aboriginal race of the country, by whom it appears to have been originally introduced. It is nearly related to a half-wild dog inhabiting Java, and also to the pariah dogs of India and other eastern countries. Dogs were also in the possession of the natives of New Zealand and other islands of the Pacific, where no placental mammals exist naturally, on their discovery by Europeans in the 18th century. The slender-jawed _C. simensis_ of Abyssinia and the South American _C. jubatus_ and _C. antarcticus_ are also generally placed in this group. On the other hand, the North American coyote (_C. latrans_), with its numerous subspecies, and the Old World jackals, such as the Indo-European _C. aureus_ the Indian _C. pallipes_, and the African _C. lupaster, C. anthus, C. adustus, C. variegatus_ and _C. mesomelas_ (the black-backed jackal), although closely related to the wolves, have been placed in a separate group under the name of _Lupulus_. Again, _Thous_ (or _Lycalopex_), is a group proposed for certain South American _Canidae_, locally known as foxes, and distinguished from all the foregoing by their fox-like aspect and longer tails, although with skulls of the thooid type. Among these are the bright-coloured colpeo, _C. magellanicus_, the darker _C. thous, C. azarae, C. griseus, C. cancrivorus_ and _C. brasiliensis_. Some of these, such as _C. azarae_ and _C. griseus_, show a further approximation to the fox in that the pupil of the eye forms a vertical slit. More distinct from all the preceding are the members of the alopecoid or vulpine section, which are unknown in South America. The characteristic feature of the skull has been already mentioned. In addition to this, reference may be made to the elliptical (in place of circular) pupil of the eye, and the general presence of ten (rarely eight) teats instead of a smaller number. The typical groups constituting the subgenus (or genus) _Vulpes_, is represented by numerous species and races spread over the Old World and North America. Foremost among these is the European fox (_C. vulpes_--otherwise _Vulpes alopex_, or _V. vulpes_), represented in the Himalaya by the variety _C. v. montanus_ and in North Africa by _C. v. niloticus_, while the North American _C. pennsylvanicus_ or _fulvus_, can scarcely be regarded as more than a local race. On the other hand, the Asiatic _C. bengalensis_ and _C. corsac_, and the North American _C. velox_ (kit-fox) are smaller and perfectly distinct species. From all these the North American _C. cinereo-argentatus_ (grey fox) and _C. littoralis_ are distinguished by having a fringe of stiff hairs in the tail, whence they are separated as _Urocyon_. Again, the Arctic fox (_C. lagopus_), of which there is a blue and a white phase, has the tail very full and bushy and the soles of the feet thickly haired, and has hence been distinguished as _Leucocyon_. Lastly, we have the elegant little African foxes known as fennecs (_Fennecus_), such as _C. zerda_ and _C. famelicus_ of the north, and the southern _C. chama_, all pale-coloured animals, with enormously long ears, and correspondingly inflated auditory bullae to the skull (see WOLF, JACKAL, FOX).

Whatever differences of opinion may obtain among naturalists as to the propriety of separating generically the foxes from the wolves and dogs, there can be none as to the claim of the long-eared fox (_Otocyon megalotis_) of south and east Africa to represent a genus by itself. In this animal the dental formula is i. 3/3, c. 1/1, p. 4/4, m. (3 or 4)/4; total 46 or 48. The molar teeth being in excess of almost all other placental mammals with a differentiated series of teeth. They have the same general characters as in _Canis_, with very pointed cusps. The lower sectorial shows little of the typical character, having five cusps on the crown-surface; these can, however, be identified as the inner tubercle, the two greatly reduced and obliquely placed lobes of the blade, and two cusps on the heel. The skull generally resembles that of the smaller foxes, particularly the fennecs. The auditory bullae are very large. The hinder edge of the lower jaw has a peculiar form, owing to the great development of an expanded, compressed and somewhat inverted subangular process. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 13, L. 7, S. 3, Ca. 22. Ears very large. Limbs rather long, with the normal number of toes. The two parietal ridges on the skull remain widely separated, so that no sagittal crest is formed. The animal is somewhat smaller than an ordinary fox. In the year 1880 Professor Huxley suggested that in the long-eared fox we have an animal nearly representing the stock from which have been evolved all the other representatives of the dog and fox tribe. One of the main grounds for arriving at this conclusion was the fact that this animal has very generally four true molars in each jaw, and always that number in the lower jaw; whereas three is the maximum number of these teeth to be met with in nearly all placental mammals, other than whales, manatis, armadillos and certain others. The additional molars in _Otocyon_ were regarded as survivals from a primitive type when a larger number was the rule. Palaeontology has, however, made great strides since 1880, and the idea that the earlier mammals had more teeth than their descendants has not only received no confirmation, but has been practically disproved. Consequently Miss Albertina Carlsson had a comparatively easy task (in a paper published in the _Zoologisches Jahrbuch_ for 1905) in demonstrating that the long-eared fox is a specialized, and to some extent degraded, form rather than a primitive type. This, however, is not all, for the lady points out that, as was suggested years previously by the present writer, the creature is really the descendant of the fossil _Canis curvipalatus_ of northern India. This is a circumstance of considerable interest from a distributional point of view, as affording one more instance of the intimate relationship between the Tertiary mammalian fauna of India and the existing mammals of Africa.

In regard to the members of the dog-tribe as a whole, it may be stated that they are generally sociable animals, hunting their prey in packs. Many species burrow in the ground; none habitually climb trees. Though mostly carnivorous, feeding chiefly on animals they have chased and killed themselves, many, especially among the smaller species, eat garbage, carrion, insects, and also fruit, berries and other vegetable substances. The upper surface of the tail of the fox has a gland covered with coarse straight hair. This gland, which emits an aromatic odour, is found in all _Canidae_, with possibly the exception of _Lycaon pictus_. Although the bases of the hair covering the gland are usually almost white, the tips are always black; this colour being generally extended to the surrounding hairs, and often forming dark bars on the buttocks. The dark spot on the back of the tail is

## particularly conspicuous, notably in such widely separated species as

the wolves, Azara's dog and the fennec.

Bear tribe.

Although its existing representatives are very different, the bear-family or _Ursidae_, as will be more fully mentioned in the sequel, was in past times intimately connected with the _Canidae_. In common with the next two families, the modern _Ursidae_ are characterized by the very small tympanic bulla, and the broad paroccipital process, which is, however, independent of the bulla. The feet are more or less completely plantigrade and five-toed. The intestine has neither duodeno jejunal flexure nor a caecum; the prostate gland is rudimentary; but glands occur in the vasa deferentia; and the penial bone is cylindrical. As distinctive characteristics of the _Ursidae_, may be mentioned the presence of an alisphenoid canal on the base of the skull; the general absence of a perforation on the inner side of the lower end of the humerus; the presence of two pairs of upper and three of lower molars, which are mostly elongated and low-cusped; and the non-cutting character and fore-and-aft shortening of the upper sectorial, which has no inner root and one inner cusp (fig. I, III.). Anal glands are apparently wanting. The short tail, bulky build, completely plantigrade feet and clumsy gait are features eminently characteristic of the bears.

The great majority of existing bears may be included in the typical genus _Ursus_, of which, in this wide sense, the leading characteristics will be as follows. The dentition is i. 3/3, c. 1/1, p. 4/4, m. 2/3 = 42; but the three anterior premolars, above and below, are one-rooted, rudimentary and frequently wanting. Usually the first (placed close to the canine) is present, and after a considerable interval the third, which is situated close to the other teeth of the cheek-series. The fourth (upper sectorial) differs essentially from the corresponding tooth of other Carnivora in that the inner lobe is not supported by a distinct root; its sectorial characters being very slightly marked. The crowns of both true molars are longer than broad, with flattened, tuberculated, grinding surfaces; the second having a large backward prolongation or heel. The lower sectorial has a small and indistinct blade and greatly developed tubercular heel; the second molar is of about the same length, but with a broader and more flattened tubercular crown; while the third is smaller. The milk-teeth are comparatively small, and shed at an early age. The skull is more or less elongated, with the orbits small and incomplete behind, and the palate prolonged considerably behind the last molar. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 6, S. 5, Ca. 8-10. Body heavy. Feet broad, completely plantigrade; the five toes on each well developed, and armed with long compressed and moderately curved, non-retractile claws, the soles being generally naked. Tail very short. Ears moderate, erect, rounded, hairy. Fur generally long, soft and shaggy.

Bears are animals of considerable bulk, and include among them the largest members of the order. Though the species are not numerous, they are widely spread over the earth, although absent from Africa south of the Sahara and Australasia. As a rule, they are omnivorous, or vegetable feeders, even the polar bear, which subsists for most of the year on flesh and fish, eating grass in summer. On the other hand, many of the brown bears live largely on salmon in summer. Among the various species the white polar bear of the Arctic regions, _Ursus (Thalassarctus) maritimus_, differs from the rest by its small and low head, small, narrow and simple molars, and the presence of a certain amount of hair on the soles of the feet. The typical group of the genus is represented by the brown bear (_U. arctus_) of Europe and Asia, of which there are many local races, such as the Syrian _U. a. syriacus_, the Himalayan _U. a. isabellinus_, the North Asiatic _U. a. collaris_, and the nearly allied Kamchadale race, which is of great size. In Alaska the group is represented by huge bears, which can scarcely claim specific distinctness from _U. arctus_; and if these are ranked only as races, it is practically impossible to regard the Rocky Mountain grizzly bear (_U. horribilis_) as of higher rank, although it naturally differs more from the Asiatic animal. On the other hand, the small and light-coloured _U. pruinosus_ of Tibet may be allowed specific rank. More distinct is the North American black bear _U. americanus_, and its white relative _U. kermodei_ of British Columbia; and perhaps we should affiliate to this group the Himalayan and Japanese black bears (_U. torquatus_ and _U. japonicus_). Very distinct is the small Malay sun-bear _U. (Helarctus) malayanus_, characterized by its short, smooth fur, extensile tongue, short and wide head, and broad molars. Finally, the spectacled bear of the Andes, _U. (Tremarctus) ornatus_, which is also a broad-skulled black species, differs from all the rest in having a perforation, or foramen, on the inner side of the lower end of the humerus. A second genus, _Melursus_, represented by the Indian sloth-bear (_M. ursinus_), differs from the preceding in having only two pairs of upper incisors, the small size of the cheek-teeth, and the extensile lips. Ants, white-ants, fruits and honey form the chief food of this shaggy black species,---a diet which accounts for its feeble dentition (see BEAR).

[Illustration: FIG. 6.--The Parti-coloured Bear, or Giant Panda (_Aeluropus melanoleucus_).]

The parti-coloured bear or giant panda (_Aeluropus melanoleucus_, fig. 6) of eastern Tibet and north-west China forms in some degree a connecting link between the bears and the true panda, although placed by Professor E.R. Lankester in the same family as the latter. In the number of the teeth, and to some extent in the character of the molars, as well as in the abbreviated tail, _Aeluropus_ resembles the bears, but in the structure of the sectorial tooth, the presence of an extra radial carpal bone, and the osteology generally, it is more like the panda. In the absence of an alisphenoid canal to the skull it differs both from the latter and the bears, and thereby resembles the raccoons; while in having a perforation at the lower end of the humerus, it agrees with the spectacled bear, the panda and raccoons. The dentition is i. 3/3, c. 1/1, p. 4/3, m. 2/3; total 40; premolars increasing in size from first to last, and two-rooted except the first; the first upper molar with quadrate crown, broader than long; and the second larger than the first. Skull with the zygomatic arches and sagittal crest immensely developed, ascending branch of lower jaw very high, giving great space for attachment of temporal muscle, and facial portion short. Bony palate not extending behind the last molar. No alisphenoid canal. Feet bear-like, but soles more hairy, and perhaps less completely plantigrade. Fur long and thick; and tail extremely short. Humerus with a perforation on the inner side of the lower end; a very large extra radial carpal bone. The colour of this strange animal is black and white (fig. 6).

With the panda (_Aelurus fulgens_) we reach an undoubted representative of the _Procyonidae_, or raccoon tribe, differing, however, from all the rest except the doubtful _Aeluropus_, in its Asiatic habitat. If the latter be included, the family may be defined as follows. Molars 3/2, except in _Aeluropus_, with blunt or sharp cusps; no alisphenoid canal, except in _Aelurus_; humerus generally with a foramen; feet plantigrade; tail, except in _Aeluropus_, long and generally ringed.

In the panda the dentition is i. 3/3, c. 1/1, p. 3/4, m. 2/2; total 38; the first lower molar being minute and deciduous, and the upper molars broad with numerous and complicated cusps. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 6, S. 3, Ca. 18. Skull high and compressed, with an alisphenoid canal, a short facial portion, and the ascending branch of the lower jaw, as in _Aeluropus_, very tall. Face cat-like, with moderate, erect, pointed ears. Claws blunt. Tail cylindrical and ringed. Fur long and thick. Extra radial carpal bone moderate. The panda is a bright golden red animal, with black under-parts, ranging from the eastern Himalaya to north-western China, where it is represented by a distinct race. Fossil species occur in the later Tertiary deposits of Europe (see PANDA).

The raccoons (_Procyon_) are the first and typical representatives of the American section of the family, in which an alisphenoid canal is always wanting. In this genus the dentition is i. 3/3, c. 1/1, p. 4/4, m. 2/2; total 40; the upper molars being broad and tuberculated; the upper sectorial (like that of _Aeluropus_ and _Aelurus_) having three outer cusps and a broad bicuspid inner lobe, giving an almost quadrate form to the crown. First upper molar with a large tuberculated crown, rather broader than long; second considerably smaller, with transversely oblong crown. Lower sectorial (first molar) with an extremely small and ill-defined blade, placed transversely in front, and a large inner tubercle and heel; second molar as long as the first, but narrower behind, with five obtuse cusps. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 6, S. 3, Ca. 16-20. Body stout. Head broad behind, but with a pointed muzzle. In walking the entire sole not applied to the ground, as it is when the animal is standing. Toes, especially of the fore-foot, very free, and capable of being spread wide apart; claws compressed, curved and pointed. Tail moderately long, cylindrical, thickly covered with hair, ringed, non-prehensile. Fur long, thick and soft. The common raccoon (_Procyon lotor_) of North America is the type of this genus; it is replaced in South America by _P. cancrivorus_ (see RACCOON). The cacomistles (_Bassariscus_) are nearly allied to _Procyon_, but of more slender and elegant proportions, with sharper nose, longer tail, and more digitigrade feet, and teeth smaller and more sharply cusped. The typical _B. astuta_ is from the southern parts of the United States and Mexico, while _B. (Wagneria) annulata_ is Mexican and Central American.

The name _Bassaricyon_ has been given to a distinct modification of the procyonine type of which at present two species are known, one from Costa Rica and the other from Ecuador respectively, named _B. gabbi_ and _B. alleni_. They much resemble the kinkajou in external appearance, but the skull and teeth are more like those of _Procyon_ and _Nasua_. In the coatis, _Nasua_, the dentition is as in _Procyon_, but the upper canines are larger and more strongly compressed, and the molars smaller; while the facial portion of the skull is more elongated and narrow. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 6, S. 3, Ca. 22-23. Body elongated and rather compressed. Nose prolonged into a somewhat upturned, obliquely-truncated, mobile snout. Tail long, non-prehensile, tapering and ringed. Coatis, or coati-mundis, live in small troops of eight to twenty, are chiefly arboreal, and feed on fruits, young birds, eggs, insects, &c. The two best-known species are _N. narica_ of Mexico and Central America, and _N. rufa_ of South America from Surinam to Paraguay (see COATI).

In the kinkajou (q.v.), an animal long known as _Cercoleptes caudivolvulus_, but whose designation it has been proposed to change to the unclassical _Potos flavus_, the dentition is i. 3/3, c. 1/1, p. 3/3, m. 2/2 = 36. Molars with low flat crowns, very obscurely tuberculated. Skull short and rounded, with flat upper surface. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 6, S. 3, Ca. 26-28. Clavicles present, but in a very rudimentary condition. Head broad and round. Ears short. Body long and musteline. Limbs short. Tail long, tapering and prehensile. Fur short and soft. Tongue long and very extensile.

Weasel tribe.

The last existing family of the land Carnivora is that typified by the martens and weasels, and hence known as the _Mustelidae_. The group is characterized by the absence of an alisphenoid canal in the skull, the reduction of the molars to 1/2 or even 1/1, the medium size of the sectorial tooth in each jaw, the absence or presence of a perforation in the humerus, and the presence of anal glands. The family is cosmopolitan in distribution, with the exception of Australasia and Madagascar.

The first section of the family, forming the subfamily _Mustelinae_, is typically characterized by the short and partially webbed toes, furnished with short, compressed, sharp, curved and often partially retractile claws. The upper molar is always of moderate size and elongated in the transverse direction. In the martens and sables (_Mustela_) the dentition is i. 3/3, c. 1/1, p. 4/3, m. 1/2; total 38; the upper sectorial having its inner lobe close to the anterior edge of the tooth; and the upper molar being nearly as large as the sectorial. Lower sectorial with small inner tubercle. Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 14, L. 6, S. 3, Ca. 18-23. Body long and slender. Limbs short,

## partially digitigrade, with the feet rounded and the toes short, with

compressed, acute, semi-retractile claws. Tail moderate or long, more or less bushy. One species, _M. martes_, the pine-marten, is British; the remainder inhabit the northern regions of Europe, Asia and America. Many of the species, as the sable (_M. zibellina_), yield fur of great value (see MARTEN).

The dentition of _Putorius_ differs from that of _Mustela_ chiefly in the absence of the anterior premolars of both jaws. The teeth are more sharply cusped, and the lower sectorial wants the inner tubercle. External characters generally similar to those of the martens, but the body longer and more slender, and the limbs even shorter. All the species are small animals, of active, bloodthirsty and courageous disposition, living chiefly on birds and small mammals, and rather terrestrial than arboreal, dwelling among rocks, stones and out-buildings. Some of the species, as the stoat or ermine (_P. ermineus_), inhabiting cold climates, undergo a seasonal change of colour, being brown in summer and white in winter, though the change does not affect the whole of the fur, the end of the tail remaining black in all seasons. This is a large genus, having a very extensive geographical range throughout the Old and New Worlds, and includes the animals commonly known as weasels, polecats, ferrets and minks (q.v.).