| General Distribution. | |||||
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| Neotropical Sub-regions. | Nearctic Sub-regions. | Palæarctic Sub-regions. | Ethiopian Sub-regions. | Oriental Sub-regions. | Australian Sub-regions. |
| — — — — | — — — — | — 2 — — | 1. 2. 3 — | 1 — — — | — — — — |
The Hyænas are characteristically Ethiopian, to which region two of the species are confined. The third, Hyæna striata, ranges over all the open country of India to the foot of the Himalayas, and through Persia, Asia Minor, and North Africa. Its fossil remains have been found in France.
Extinct Species.—The cave hyæna (H. spelæa) occurs abundantly in the caverns of this country and of Central Europe, and is supposed to be most nearly allied to the H. crocuta of South Africa. Another species is found in some parts of France. The earliest known true hyænas occur in the Pliocene formation in France, in the Red Crag (Older Pliocene) of England, and in the Upper Miocene of the Siwalik hills. In the Miocene period in Europe, quite distinct genera are found, such as Hyænictis and Lycæna from the Upper Miocene of Greece; Ictitherium, supposed to be intermediate between Viverridæ and Hyænidæ; and Thalassictis, uniting the weasels and hyænas.
Family 28.—CANIDÆ. (3 Genera, 17 Sub-Genera, 54 Species.)
| General Distribution. | |||||
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| Neotropical Sub-regions. | Nearctic Sub-regions. | Palæarctic Sub-regions. | Ethiopian Sub-regions. | Oriental Sub-regions. | Australian Sub-regions. |
| 1. 2. 3 — | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3 — | 1. 2. 3. 4 | — 2? — — |
The Canidæ, comprising the animals commonly known as dogs, wolves, and foxes, have an almost universal range over the earth, being only absent from the island sub-regions of Madagascar, the Antilles, Austro-Malaya, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. With the exception of two remarkable forms—the hyæna dog (Lycaon picta), and the great-eared fox (Megalotis Lalandei), both from South Africa—all the species are usually placed in the genus Canis, the distribution of which will be the same as that of the family. Dr. J. E. Gray, in his arrangement of the family (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1868), subdivides it into fifteen genera, the names and general distribution of which are as follows:—
Icticyon (1 species), Brazil; Cuon (4 species), Siberia to Java; Lupus (5 species), North America, Europe, India to Ceylon; Dieba (1 species), North and West Africa; Simenia (1 species), Abyssinia; Chrysocyon (2 species), North and South America; Canis (4 species), India, Australia (indigenous?) Lycalopex (2 species), South America; Pseudalopex (5 species), South America and Falkland Islands; Thous (2 species), South America to Chili; Vulpes (17 species), all the great continents, except South America and Australia; Fennecus (4 species), all Africa; Leucocyon (1 species), Arctic regions; Urocyon (2 species), North America; Nyctereutes (1 species), Japan, Amoorland to Canton (Plate III., vol. i. p. 226). These are all sub-genera according to Professor Carus, except Icticyon. The same author makes Lycaon a sub-genus, while Dr. Gray makes it a sub-family!
Extinct Species.—The dog, wolf, and fox, are found fossil in caverns in many parts of Europe, and several extinct species have been found in Tertiary deposits in Europe, North India, and South America. Two species have been found so far back as the Eocene of France, but the fragments discovered are not sufficient to determine the characters with any certainty. In North America, several species of Canis occur in the Pliocene of Nebraska and La Plata. The genus Galecynus, of the Pliocene of Œninghen, and Palæocyon, of the Brazilian caves, are supposed to belong to the Canidæ. Amphicyon abounded in the Miocene period, both in Europe and North America; and some of the species were as large as a tiger. Other extinct genera are, Cynodictis, Cyotherium, and Galethylax, from the Eocene of France; Pseudocyon, Simocyon, and Hemicyon, from the Miocene; but all these show transition characters to Viverridæ or Ursidæ, and do not perhaps belong to the present family.
Family 29.—MUSTELIDÆ. (21-28 Genera, 92 Species.)
| General Distribution. | |||||
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| Neotropical Sub-regions. | Nearctic Sub-regions. | Palæarctic Sub-regions. | Ethiopian Sub-regions. | Oriental Sub-regions. | Australian Sub-regions. |
| 1. 2. 3 — | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3 — | 1. 2. 3. 4 | — — — — |