Horváth Géza (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 23. (Budapest 1926)
Ognev, S. I.: A systematic review of the mammals of Russia
common in the central and northern parts of European Russia is very characleristical. Winter fur is luxuriantly soft and handsome. Skull of the mountainous Transcaucasian fox is weaker and smaller in size, than that of the Cis-Caucasian one. The nasal region is narrower, the facial part shorter, whereas the brain-case, notwithstanding the general small size of the skull, is longer (not only comparatively, but absolutely too). Teeth are considerably weaker. General length of skull of cfcf 139-152-6, of 99 132'7—145"0; *) condylo-basal length of cfcf 135-7—146-1, of 99 125-8—141-2 ; zygomatic breadth of cfcf 73-3—80-2, of 99 70-1—70-2; utmost breadth of skull of cfcf 44-3—50-8 of 99, 46—46'7 ; length of brain-case of cfcf 59-3—64-1, of 99 57-2—62-5 ; length of facial part of cfcf 59-7—66-5, of 99 56-1—62-9; height of skull of cfcf 48'0— 50, of 99 49-2—50-8; length of upper row of teeth of cfcf 63—68, of 99 57-2—64 mm.**) Systematic remarks. — The V. v. alticola is rather easily to be distinguished from the V. v. caucasica, as much by its smaller and weakerskull, as by the peculiarities of its colouring. Some brightly coloured forms of this fox are closely related to the V. v. Alpherakyi, from which they differ but by a larger skull and teeth. The light coloured form of V. v. alticola is evidently closely related to the V. v. hurdistanica. The latter form, however, is still brighter coloured, the fur on the middle of the back is redder, the head is lighter, without any bright stripes between the eyes and the nose; the tail is paler. Most likely, the forms, living on the mountain summits of Karsk, are very near to the light V. v. alticola, constitute the pale predominating type of colouring of local foxes. The V. v. hurdistanica differs from foxes of the neighbourhood of the lake Goktcha, Borjom and mountainous parts of the gvt. of Tiflis by their somewhat larger sizes, exceeding those of our northern ones. G. I. RADDE in his works, acknowledging the confusion and complication in the systématisation of the Caucasian foxes, supposes, that besides the common fox of this region one meets with the karagan form {Vulpes melanotus PALL.). Later authors have come to other conclusions. Thus, SATUNIN writes as follows : „N. J. DINNICK, on his part, quite agrees with me, that the karagan (Vulpes melanotus PALL.) is nowhere to be met with in the boundaries of the Caucasian region, and that the former explorators have *) Unfortunately I have had only two skulls of females under observation. **) There is no doubt, that the sizes of the body of the V. v. alticola are somewhat smaller than those of the V. v. caucasica. To get an exact opinion of the worth of these differences, one must operate with measurements of foxes in flesh.
