A manual of British vertebrate animals / [Leonard Jenyns].

  • Leonard Jenyns
Date:
1835
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of British vertebrate animals / [Leonard Jenyns]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Primitive stock supposed to have been allied to the Shepherd’s Dog, a race chiefly characterized by straight ears, long hair, and a bushy tail. Feeds principally on animal substances, and is particularly attached to carrion. Female goes with young sixty-three days, and produces from six to twelve at a time. The puppies are born blind, and continue so for the first ten days. t 11. C. Lupus, Linn. (Wolf)—Tail straight: eyes oblique. C. Lupus, Desm. Mammal. p.197. Wolf, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol.1. p. 75. pl. 5. Shaw, Gen. Zool. vol. 1. p. 290. pl. 75. Dimens. Length of the head and body three feet nine inches; of the head ten inches six lines; of the ears four inches nine lines ; of the tail one foot five inches. Descrirr. Larger than the dog; the limbs stronger, and the body more mus- cular: muzzle sharp and pointed : eyes set obliquely : ears erect: tail straight and pendent; somewhat long and bushy: fur tawny or yellowish gray, with a black streak on the fore legs in the adult state. Formerly abundant throughout Great Britain, but long since extirpated. Con- tinued in Scotland till the year 1680, and in Ireland so late as 1710. Still found in most parts of the continent. (2. VutPEs, Flem.) 12. C. Vulpes, Linn. (fox.)—Tawny brown above ; white beneath : ears externally black: tail thick and bushy, tipped with white. C. Vulpes, Desm. Mammal. p. 201. Vulpes vulgaris, Flem. Brit. An. p. 13. Fox, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. 1. p. 71. Dimens. Length of the head and body two feet three inches; of the head six inches; of the ears four inches; of the tail one foot four inches: girth one foot one inch. Descript. Muzzle sharp: head rather large, and somewhat flattened on the forehead: tusks relatively longer than in the dog, and more slender: ears erect and pointed: eyes oblique: tail very thick and bushy: fur thick and long, of a tawny or reddish brown colour: lips, lower jaw, forepart of the neck, abdomen, and inside of the thighs, white: back of the ears blackish brown; a streak of the same colour passing from the corner of each eye to the nose: extreme tip of the tail white. Varies occasionally in size and colour, as well as in the quality of the hair. Frequents woods in the vicinity of farmyards and villages. Prowls about during the night, preying on poultry, small birds, rabbits, &e. Brings forth its young under ground, and produces from three to six - at a birth. GEN. 6. FELIS, Linn. 13. F. Catus, Linn. (Wild Cat.)—Yellowish gray, with longitudinal and transverse bars of black: tail annu- lated with black; of equal thickness throughout. F. Catus, Desm. Mammal. p. 232. HFlem. Brit. An. p.15. Wild Cat, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. 1. p. 80. Dimens. Length of the head and body (male) twenty-seven inches nine lines, (female) twenty-one inches three lines; of the tail (male) thirteen inches six lines, (female) twelve inches four lines.
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