Part 10

DESCRIPTION.—This species is considerably less than the common European fox, (Canis Vulpes, Auct.) its weight probably would scarcely exceed half that of the latter animal. The form of the body is stout, the limbs are short and rather slender; the head is also short, and the muzzle is pointed; the ears are of moderate size. The tail is about equal to half the whole length of the body, head included; and compared with that of ordinary foxes, is much less bushy, especially at the base. The general hue of this animal is very dark; the fur is rather short, and harsh to the touch; the under fur is abundant, and of a woolly texture. On the back, all the hairs are of a deep brown colour, annulated with white near the apex, and black at the apex. When the fur is in its ordinary position, the brown colour is not seen, and the black and white produce a grizzled appearance; the black colour, however, predominates. On the sides of the body each hair is grayish at the base, then pale brown, near the apex annulated with white, and at the apex black: the three last mentioned colours are exhibited in about equal proportions (the fur being in its natural position) over the haunches and shoulders, but between these two parts, the brown and white colours are the more conspicuous. The hairs of the head are coloured in the same way as those of the sides of the body, excepting that the brown portion of each hair, is replaced by rusty brown, which gives a rufous hue to this part. The muzzle and chin are of a sooty brown colour. A dirty white patch is observable on each side of the muzzle at the apex, and this colour is extended along the margin of the upper lip on to the lower part of the cheeks, and over the whole of the throat; all the hairs in these parts (with the exception of those on the lips) being of a deep brownish gray colour, with their apical portions only, white. The ears are covered internally with long yellowish white hairs; towards, and on the margin of the ears externally, the hairs are of a buff colour, on the remaining portion of the ears, and on the sides of the neck, they are of a reddish chestnut hue. The hairs of the under parts of the body are brown, those near the hinder legs, and between them, are of a dirty white colour at the apex; towards the rump they are of a yellowish brown colour. The hairs of the tail are brown, black at the apex, and annulated with white near the apex; on the apical portion the hairs are black, and brown at the base. The fore legs are of a brown colour externally, internally they are of a brownish fulvous hue; such is also the colour of the feet. The fore part of the posterior legs is whitish, and there is a large blackish patch on the outer side, and extending around the posterior part, above the heel.

In. Lines. Length from nose to root of tail 24 0 to base of ear 0 4¾ of tail (hair included) 10 0 of ear 2 3½ Height of body at the shoulders 10 6

Habitat, Chiloe. (December.)

“I killed this animal on the sea-beach, at the southern point of the island; it is considered extremely rare in the northern and inhabited districts. Molina mentions this fox, which he falsely considered as the C. lagopus, under the name of the Payne Gurú, and he adds, that in the Archipelago of Chiloe, it is found of a black colour. From this circumstance I am induced to believe that the species is confined to these islands.”—D.

4. CANIS AZARÆ. PLATE VII.

Canis Azaræ, Pr. Maximilian, Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte Braziliens, vol. ii. p. 338.

Agouarachay, Azara, Essais sur l’histoire naturelle des Quadrupèdes de la Province du Paraguay, tom. i. p. 317.

C. suprà albo nigroque variegatus; lateribus cinerescentibus; capite, auribus externè, artubusque, cinereo-cinnamominis; mento nigro; tibiis externis ad basin nigro lavatis; caudâ albescente, suprà nigro variegatâ, ad apicem nigrâ; spatio pone angulos oris, gutture, corporeque subtùs albescentibus; fasciis duabus griscescentibus in pectore plus minusve distinctis.

DESCRIPTION.—Compared with the common fox (Canis Vulpes, Auct.), the present animal is rather smaller, and of a more slender form. Its limbs are a little longer in proportion; the ears are not so broad. The tail is not quite so bushy, neither is it so long; the fur is much longer, and of a harsher nature.

The predominant colours of the body are black and white; the limbs are of a fulvous hue externally. The hairs on the under part of the feet are dirty brown; the fore part of the anterior legs, and the feet, are of a buff colour; on the former, the hairs are more or less distinctly tipped with black, which produces a grizzled appearance. The inner side of the fore legs is of an uniform pale buff colour; the hinder part of these legs, the fore part of the posterior legs, and the inner side of the thighs, are white. On the outer side of the hinder legs, at some little distance above the heel, is a large blackish patch. The under parts of the body are of a dirty white hue, arising from the hairs being dusky or brownish at the base, and tipped with white, as on the fore part of the belly, or of a pale buff colour at the base, as towards the rump. The edge of the upper lip, the throat, neck, and chest, are white; a broad grayish band extends across the latter, and another of a paler hue crosses the lower part of the neck. The chin is black, and this colour is extended backwards around the angle of the mouth. The upper part of the head is of a pale yellow-brown colour, each hair being annulated with white near the apex. The ears are furnished with white hairs internally, and externally they are of a yellowish brown colour, tipped with black; at the base of the ears, and the portion of the neck on each side nearest to them, the hairs are of an uniform buff colour. The hairs of the moustaches are long and stiff, and of a black colour. The hairs of the back, which are very long, are brown at the base, very pale towards the skin, and of a deep brown in the opposite direction; each hair is then white, and at the apex black. The tail is whitish, mottled with black; the apical portion is black, and there is a patch of the same colour towards the base on the upper side.

In. Lines. Length from nose to root of tail 27 6 to base of ear 5 9 of tail (hair included) 14 6 of ear 3 2 Height of body at the shoulders 14 0

Habitat, La Plata, Patagonia, and Chile.

The black and white portions of the hairs on the back produce in that part a mottled appearance, and in the specimen from which the above description is taken, these two colours are about equal in proportion. In another specimen now before me, the black colour predominates on the back. The fur in the younger animals of this species is not so long nor so harsh, and the upper parts are grizzled with black and white; that is to say, these two colours do not form patches of considerable extent as in the adults; the general colouring is also somewhat paler. The chin is brown-black or brown, instead of black, and the upper band, or that, which in the adult extends across the upper part of the neck, is interrupted in the middle; in fact, is only traceable on the sides of the neck.

Azara, in his description of the Agouarachay, says, the muzzle, as far back as the eyes, is blackish; whereas, in all the specimens examined by me, the muzzle is of the same colour as the other parts of the head, or very nearly so. In other respects his description agrees with the animal described by me, and not with the Canis cinereo-argentatus, which Desmarest and Lesson suppose to be the Agouarachay of Azara. In Fischer’s “Synopsis Mammalium” the Canis Azaræ is described as having the tip of the tail white; whereas it is black, not only in the five specimens which have come under my notice, but also in those in the collection of Prince Maximilian (who was the original describer) and in the Paris Museum.

“This animal has a wide range; Prince Maximilian brought specimens from Brazil; and it is common in La Plata, Chile, the whole of Patagonia, even to the shores of the Strait of Magellan; and a fox, which lives on the small islands not far from Cape Horn, probably belongs to this species. This animal generally frequents desert places; I saw many in the valley of the Despoblado, a branch of that of Copiapó, where there is no fresh water, and where, with the exception of some small rodents, (the constant inhabitants of sterile regions) scarcely any other animal could exist. I saw also very many of these foxes wandering about by day (although Azara says they are nocturnal in Paraguay) on the plains of Santa Cruz, where various kinds of mice are abundant, and likewise around the Sierra Ventana. In the course of one day’s ride in this latter neighbourhood, (not far from Bahia Blanca, lat. 39° S.) I should think I saw between thirty and forty. They generally were wandering at no great distance from their burrows; but, as they are not very swift animals, our dogs caught two. Azara states that in Paraguay this fox, which he calls the Agourá-chay, inhabits thick woods, and that it makes a great nest or pile of straw, to lie on; but that near Buenos Ayres it uses the holes of the Bizcacha. Further southward, where the Bizcacha is not found, it certainly excavates its own burrow. In Chile these foxes are very destructive to the vineyards, from the quantity of grapes they consume; so that boys are generally kept in the vintage season with bells and other means to frighten them away. Azara states, that in Paraguay they likewise eat fruit and sugarcane. By the same authority it is said, that the Agourá-chay, when taken young, is easily domesticated.”—D.

1. FELIS YAGOUAROUNDI. PLATE VIII.

Felis Yagouaroundi, Desmarest, Mammologie, p. 230.

Yagouaroundi, Azara, Essais sur l’histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes de la Province du Paraguay, tom. i. p. 171.

Felis Darwinii, Martin, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1837, p. 3.

F. vellere brevi, adpresso, purpurascenti-fusco; pilis flavescente annulatis; pedibus nigro lavatis; caudâ longissimâ; auribus parvulis.

DESCRIPTION.—The fur is rather harsh, short, and somewhat adpressed: the under fur is of a pale grayish brown colour; the hairs which constitute the chief clothing of the animal, are black, annulated with brownish yellow, or in some parts, yellow-white, each hair having about three or four rings. The black and pale colours are about equal in proportion, and their mixture produces a deep brown tint, which is almost uniform throughout the body and limbs. On the head the yellowish colour predominates over the black, excepting on the tip of the muzzle, and thence back to the eye, where the hairs are of a brownish black colour. On the throat the hairs are brown. The underside of the tarsus is black, and on the outer side of the fore foot there is a black mark which extends upwards on to the wrist. The tail is long and bushy; towards and on the base, the hairs are annulated with black and yellow, like those of the body; but beyond this they are of a more uniform colour, each hair being brown at the base, and gradually shaded into black towards the tip. The ears are small and rounded, and covered with hairs of the same colour as those on the head. The claws are of a large size, and white colour; the toes are united for a considerable portion of their length by the interdigital membrane.

In. Lines. Length from nose to root of tail 25 0 to base of ear 3 6 of tail (hairs included) 19 0 of ear 1 0 Height of body at shoulders 12 0

Habitat, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (May.)

“This cat was given me by an old Portuguese priest, who had hunted it down in a thick forest with a small pack of dogs, after a severe chase. It was killed near the Gavia mountain, at the distance of a few miles only from Rio de Janeiro, where it was considered uncommon.” D. Although small, compared with the Puma, (Felis concolor, Auct.), this cat, in its slender lengthened body, small head, long tail, and stout limbs, decidedly evinces an affinity to that species. According to the dimensions of the Yagouaroundi given by Azara, Desmarest, and Temminck, it appears that the tail is considerably shorter in proportion in the specimens examined by those naturalists, than in the present individual, and the difference was such, as to induce Mr. Martin to believe that the latter was a distinct species; he accordingly proposed for it the specific name of Darwinii. At the time that Mr. Martin described the specimen alluded to, I was also inclined to believe it was a distinct species. I mention this because I am afraid my opinion had a slight share in influencing Mr. Martin’s determination. I have since seen many specimens, and upon comparing their dimensions, I find that the proportionate length of the tail varies more than is usual in other species of cats, and that the difference in the length in this member is not combined with any other distinguishing character. In colouring there is also a considerable variation, some specimens being almost black, and having the hairs but obscurely annulated with white; in others, the hairs are more distinctly annulated, and the head assumes a grayish hue. Others again, are brown, or black brown, having the hairs annulated with yellow. The following are the dimensions of two specimens in the Paris museum, and those given by the authors above alluded to.

Paris M. Paris M. Desmarest. Temminck. Azara. In. Lines. In. Lines. In. Lines. In. Lines. In. Lines. Length from nose to root of tail 30 6 28 0 23 0 30 0 36 9 of tail 24 0 17 0 13 9 22 0 13 9

2. FELIS PAJEROS. PLATE IX.

Chat Pampa, Azara, Essais sur l’histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes du Paraguay. Traduct. Franç. tom. 1. p. 179.

Felis Pajeros, Desmarest, Mammologie, p. 231.