tle African foxes known as fennecs
(_Fennecus_), such as _C. zerda_ and _C. famelicus_ of the north, and
the southern _C. chama_, all pale-coloured animals, with enormously
long ears, and correspondingly inflated auditory bullae to the skull
(see WOLF, JACKAL, FOX).

Whatever differences of opinion may obtain among naturalists as to the
propriety of separating generically the foxes from the wolves and
dogs, there can be none as to the claim of the long-eared fox
(_Otocyon megalotis_) of south and east Africa to represent a genus by
itself. In this animal the dental formula is i. 3/3, c. 1/1, p. 4/4, m.
(3 or 4)/4; total 46 or 48. The molar teeth being in excess of almost
all other placental mammals with a differentiated series of teeth.
They have the same general characters as in _Canis_, with very pointed
cusps. The lower sectorial shows little of the typical character,
having five cusps on the crown-surface; these can, however, be
identified as the inner tubercle, the two greatly reduced and
obliquely placed lobes of the blade, and two cusps on the heel. The
skull generally resembles that of the smaller foxes, particularly the
fennecs. The auditory bullae are very large. The hinder edge of the
lower jaw has a peculiar form, owing to the great development of an
expanded, compressed and somewhat inverted subangular process.
Vertebrae: C. 7, D. 13, L. 7, S. 3, Ca. 22. Ears very large. Limbs
rather long, with the normal number of toes. The two parietal ridges
on the skull remain widely separated, so that no sagittal crest is
formed. The animal is somewhat smaller than an ordinary fox. In the
year 1880 Professor Huxley suggested that in the long-eared fox we
have an animal nearly representing the stock from which have been
evolved all the other representatives of the dog and fox tribe. One of
the main grounds for arriving at this conclusion was the fact that
this animal has very generally four true molars in each jaw, and
always that number in the lower jaw; whereas three is the maximum
number of these teeth to be met with in nearly all placental mammals,
other than whales, manatis, armadillos and certain others. The
additional molars in _Otocyon_ were regarded as survivals from a
primitive type when a larger number was the rule. Palaeontology has,
however, made great strides since 1880, and the idea that the earlier
mammals had more teeth than their d