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Show 492 DR. J. B. GRAY ON THE C'ANIDvE. [June 25, Mr. Flower informs me that in the Museum of the College of Surgeons there are several foetuses of Indian Elephants ; the smallest is about double the size of the one here figured. In the same collection is the foetus of a Rhinoceros oswellii of Africa, presented by Messrs. Chapman and Bains, about 6 inches long. 8. Notes on the Skulls of the Species of Dogs, Wolves, and Foxes (Canidce) in the Collection of the British Museum. B y Dr. J. E. G R A Y , F.R.S., V.P.Z.S., F.L.S., &c. The Dogs form a very natural group ; and it was early divided by the community and naturalists into Dogs and Foxes, according to the length of tbe tail and the sharpness of the face. More lately, as more or less anomalous species have been discovered, as the Hysena-like Dog of Africa, the Raccoon Dog of China and Japan, the Weasel-like Dog of Brazil, they and some other species have been separated into genera. The Canidse have been separated by general consent into three natural groups, according to the length and form of the tail,-the Wolves having a short and straight tail, the Dogs a more or less elongated tail bent to the left and more or less curled, the Foxes an elongated bushy tail. In South America there is found a group with skulls like Wolves but with long slender tail, which may be called long-tailed Wolves. There is no doubt that the form of the tail affords very permanent characters and has considerable influence on the habits of the animal. Dr. Burmeister has studied the skulls of the group ; and he divides the family, according to the form of the postorbital process, into two tribes, thus : - I. L U P I N E . Postorbital process of the frontal bone very convex, and curved downwards, without any depression in the upper surface. To this group he refers Canis with a short, Lycalopex aud Pseucla-lopex with an elongated tail. The skull in this group is generally thick and solid. II. V U L P I N E . Postorbital process of the frontal bone spread out, bent a little forward, the front edge turned up, with a longitudinal shallow pit or indentation on the upper surface at the base. This division includes the genera Vulpes and Urocyon. The skulls of this section are elongated, slender, thin, and light. The habit of the animal is generally nocturnal, and the pupil of the eye elliptical erect. The form of the contracted pupil of the eye has yet to be observed in a large number of the species. Mr. Bartlett, in reply to m y inquiry, states that " the females of the Long-eared Fox, the Arctic, and the Common Fox have oblong erect pupils, the Black-backed and Common Jackals have rouud pupils like the Wolf and Dog."-March 28, 1868. Mr. Bryan Hodgson, in his collection of Drawings of Nepalese |