As the lion or the tiger forms the supreme development of the feline stock, so the wolf constitutes the culminating branch of the canine line. Each of these animals represents indeed the acme of perfection of which its particular type is capable; but in regard to specialisation the members of the cat tribe stand on a much higher plane than those of the dog family. In the cats we find the face much shortened and rounded, the number of cheek-teeth reduced both at the front and the back of the series, the pair of cutting-teeth in each jaw consisting almost entirely of scissor-like blades, and the claws retractile and protected by large horny sheaths. In the dog tribe, on the other hand, the long face and numerous cheek-teeth of the more primitive extinct Carnivora are retained, the pair of cutting-teeth are by no means wholly blade, and the claws are non-retractile and devoid of sheaths. Equally marked differences in the matter of habits are likewise characteristic of the two groups. Cats, as a rule, hunt their prey singly or in couples, stalking it stealthily by the aid of sight, and then making a sudden rush or spring upon the victim. Most members of the _Canidæ_, on the contrary, associate in large packs, which hunt their victims by scent, and pull them down by their combined strength. Apart from the brown bear, which is of a less active and less carnivorous disposition, the wolf is the largest member of the Carnivora which has been indigenous to central and northern Europe during the historic period; and it plays in the folk-lore of that portion of the continent a part very similar to that taken by the tiger in the legends and mythology of the natives of India. The superstition of the “werwolf” and the familiar story of _Little Red Ridinghood_ bear striking testimony to the prominent position held by the wolf in folk-lore.