muzzle and longer ears than the one found on the Saskatchewan, but the différence
is not so great as to enable us to speak of them as distinct varieties.
DESCRIPTION.
The fur of the Prairie Wolf is of the same quality with that of the Gray Wolf, and consists of
long hairs, with a thick wool at their base. The wool has a smoky or dull lead colour ; the long
hairs on the back are white either for their whole length, or they are merely tipped with
black. The prevailing colour along the spine is dark blackish-gray, sprinkled with white
hairs. Its cheeks, upper lip, chin, throat, belly, and insides of the thighs are white. There
is a light brown tint upon the upper surface of the nose, on the forehead, and between the
ears, on the shoulders, on the sides, where it is mixed with gray, and on the outsides of the
thighs and legs. The tail is gray and brown, with a black tip. Some individuals have a
broad black mark on the shins of the fore-legs, like the European wolf. The ears are short,
erect, and roundish, white anteriorly and brown behind. The tail is bushy, and is clothed like
the body with wool and long hair. Some specimens want the brown tints, and have more of
the gray colour.
Dimension's
Of No. 34, Zoological Museum, "killed on the Saskatchewan.
Length of head and body . .
Feet.
. 3 0 Distance between the end of the nose and
Feet. Inches.
„ tail (vertebrae) . , . 1 0 the anterior angle o f the eye 0 3 f
,, tail, with the fur . 1 2i ,, between the ears . ... . 0 3£
„ the ear, measured behind . 0 2è ,, between-the eyes . , 0 2£
Dimensions
Of a scull of the Saskatchewan sort.
From the incisors to the junction of the
occipital and sagittal crests by callipers
Inches.
8 0
The total length of the nose in a recent
spedmen ought to be about
Inches. Lines.
4 0
From ditto to ditto, following the curvature
of forehead . . . . 8 11
Greatest breadth of the scull, i. e. from the
outside of one zygomatic arch to the outLength
of nasal bones 2 7 ■ side of the other . ^ „ S 0
The os indsivum projects beyond the nasal
bones . . . . 1 3
From incisors along the base of the scull to
the inferior margin of the ocdpital foramen 7 0
There is a second specimen in the Zoological Museum, brought from the
plains of the Columbia;, which has the narrow muzzle and long ears of Say’s
specimens.