ion. It is
the only mungoose mentioned in Blyth's 'Catalogue of the Mammals of
Burmah,' but there are at least two more, and probably some of the
Malayan species are yet to be found in Tenasserim.

CYNOIDEA.

This is the next and last section in the order I have adopted, of
the land Carnivora, and contains the typical family _Canis_. All the
animals that we shall have to deal with might and would be by some
authors brought into this one genus, the only others recognised by
them being the two African genera, _Megalotis_ and _Lycaon_, the
long-eared fox and the hyaena-dog, and the _Nyctereutes_ or
racoon-dog of Northern China and Amoorland. But although all our
Indian species might be treated of under the one genus _Canis_, it
will be better to keep to the separation adopted by Jerdon, and
classify the wolves and jackals under _Canis_, and the foxes under
_Vulpes_. As regards the wild dog of India, its dentition might
warrant its being placed in a separate genus, but after all the name
chosen for it is but merely a difference in sound, the two being the
same thing in Latin and Greek.

But although this group contains the smallest number of forms, the
varieties of the domestic dog are endless, and no part of the world
is without a species of the genus, except certain islands, such as
the West Indies, Madagascar, the Polynesian isles, New Zealand and
the Malayan archipelago; in these territories there is no indigenous
dog. I speak of dogs in its broad sense of _Canis_, including wolves
and foxes.

The proper position of the _Cynoidea_ should be between the bears
and the cats, as in their dentition they approximate to the former,
and in their digitigrade character to the latter; but, with a view
to make this work concurrent with that of Jerdon's, I have accepted
the position assigned by him, though it be a little out of place.

The general form of the skeleton of a dog resembles that of a feline,
though the limbs may be to a certain extent longer; they also walk
on the tips of their toes, but their claws are not retractile,
although the ligament by which the process of retraction in the cat
is effected is present in a rudimentary form, but is permanently
overpowered by the greater flexor muscles. A dog's paw is therefore
by no means such a wonderful piece of mechanism and example of power
as that of the cat, but is feeble in comparison, and is never used
as a weapon of offence, as in the case of felines, the prey be