“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[9] (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.[10] 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