siebold-wolf-en

Translation and original text of the description of the wolf in the Fauna Japonica

Regarding the translation
We have added additional information and amendments to the original text in brackets [].

We have converted the old French measures of length to inches and rounded them up or down; the new total values have also been added in brackets. The calculation was made as follows:

pied (foot) = 12.784252 inch; makes 12 pouces
pouce ("thumb"/inch) = 1.065354 inch; makes 12 lignes
ligne (line) = 0.088976 inch

Ph. Fr. de Siebold: Fauna Japonica, Lugduni Batavorum (= Leiden) 1842, chap. "Chien hodophile (Canis hodophylax)", p. 38-39.

Hodophylax dog (Canis hodop[h]ylax). [1]
Plate 9, adult.

The new feral dog species, the Jamainu as he is called by the Japanese [2], can be compared to the wolf from our regions, both with respect to his whole build and to the consistency of his pelt and his way of living. However, his short legs distinguish him sufficiently from our wolf (Canis lupus) thus discarding any idea of a closer relationship to this European dog species. Neither can he be considered to be a counterpart to the feral dog species of North America, differing from them with his smaller size and short legs. The latter characteristic is a remarkable feature in this novel species.

The Japanese wolf is not only smaller than the European but also in relation to the total body height he does not stand so high on his legs as the latter. A comparison of the bone mass of the relevant body parts is sufficient to confirm this difference. Measurements were taken from the skeleton of a very old European wolf as well as from the front and rear extremities of a tall adult Japanese wolf. These were the sole parts of the skeleton available for this osteologic comparison.

The upper arm bone (humerus) and the thigh (femur) from the leg bones of our "Jamainu" were missing. The lower arm bone or radius of this wolf is 7 inches, 6 lines long [7.99"], whilst it is 9 inches, 5 lines [10.03"] long in the European wolf. The tibia of the former is 6 inches, 6 lines long [6.93"], in our wolf it is 8 inches, 4 lines [8.88"]. Also the metatarsal and the metacarpal bones are different in their measurements.

The pelt of the Jamainu is short and smooth but the tail is vested with longer hair. The consistency of this pelt as well as its colour is just slightly different from the pelt of our wolf. The grounding of this coat is a grey or ash-coloured hue. All hair from the base up to two thirds of their length had this colouring. These hairs have black tips on the back and in the area of the croup giving these parts a blackish appearance. The flanks, the rear part, the abdomen and the tail have a grey hue because the hairs in these parts have only a slightly blackish colouring at the tips. The head and the muzzle are dark-grey, the lips more or less blackish and the area behind the ears is brownish-red. The four extremities are grey, blurred with red and brown colourings. The tip of the tail has no coloured flake.

The measures of an adult specimen as pictured on plate 9 of this work are for the front side 1 foot, 4 inches [17.05"] [3], for the croup [= rear area of the back] 1 foot, 6 inches [19.18"]. Total length: 3 feet, 9 inches [47.94"], with the tail being circa one foot [12.78"] long. Distance from the front edge of the eye to the tip of the nose: 3 inches, 6 lines [3.73" ]. Height of the ears: 3 inches [3.20"].

In his notes Mr. von Siebold [4] mentions a very old individual of this species which this voyager had obtained alive and held captive for some time. The details of the measurements and the colouring of the pelt he provides are absolutely identical to those which I found on a well preserved pelt which the museum [at Leiden] received, thanks to the efforts of Mr. Bürger [5], and which was sent under the same name "Jamainu".

The wolf lives in densely wooded and mountainous areas. He hunts in small packs. His presence has been decimated in the same way as our wolf in European countries, even though he still appears there fairly often in the winter, despite the enduring prosecutions he has to suffer. The Japanese maintain that the flesh of the Ookame [6] is edible, whereas that of the Jamainu would be a health hazard.

CHIEN HODOPHILE. (CANIS HODOP[H]YLAX). [7]
Pl. IX, adulte.

L'espèce nouvelle de chien sauvage, Jamainu des Japonais, peut être comparé au loup de nos contrées, autant par l'ensemble des formes que par la nature du pelage et par sa manière de vivre; toutefois, la proportion moins haute des pieds le distingue déjà assez de notre Canis lupus, pour écarter toute idée de rapport spécifique avec ce chien d'Europe. Il ne saurait non plus être admis comme espèce analogue des chiens sauvages de l'Amérique septentrionale, desquels il s'éloigne par sa petite taille et par la brièveté des jambes. Ce dernier caractère est en effet remarquable dans cette nouvelle espèce.

Le loup du Japon est non seulement plus petit que celui d'Europe, mais il est proportio[n]nellement à la taille moins élevé sur jambes que ce dernier; les dimensions comparées des os de ces parties suffiront pour constater cette différence; elles sont prises sur la squelette d'un loup d'Europe très vieux, et sur les extrémités antérieurs et postérieurs d'un loup du Japon adulte, de forte dimension; ce sont aussi les seules parties du squelette que je puis faire servir à cette comparaison ostéologique.

L'humerus et le fémur manquaient aux os des pieds de notre Jamainu; l'os de l'avant-bras ou le radius de ce loup est long de 7 pouces 6 lignes, tandis qu'il a 9 pouces 5 lignes chez le loup d'Europe; le tibia du premier porte en longueur 6 pouces 6 lignes, et celui de notre loup est de 8 pouces 4 lignes; les métatarses et les métacarpes diffèrent également par leurs dimensions.

Le pelage du Jamainu est court e lisse, mais la queue est pourvue de poils plus longs; la nature de ce pelage, de même que sa couleur, diffèrent peu de la fourrure de notre loup. Une teinte grise ou cendrée sert de fond à cette livrée; tous les poils étant colorés ainsi depuis leur base jusqu'aux deux tiers de la longueur; ces poils ont des pointes noires sur le dos et vers la croupe, ce qui fait que ces parties offrent des teintes noirâtres; les flancs, le cou, le ventre et la queue portent des teintes grises, vu que les poils de ces parties n'ont que leur fine pointe légèrement noirâtre; la tête et le museau sont d'un gris foncé, les lèvres plus ou moins blanchâtres, et la région postérieure des oreilles d'une teinte rousse brunâtre; les quatre extrémités sont grises, lavées de teintes rousses et brunes. La bout de la queue ne porte pas de flocon coloré.

Les dimensions prises sur un sujet adulte figuré pl. 9 de ce recueil sont, pour le train de devant, 1 pied 4 pouces, pour la croupe 1 pied 6 pouces; longueur totale 3 pieds 9 pouces, sur laquelle la queue prend environ un pied; distance du bord antérieur des yeux à la pointe du nez 3 pouces 6 lignes; hauteur des oreilles 3 pouces.

Les notes de Mr. de Siebold font mention d'un individu très vieux de cette espèce que ce voyageur a obtenu vivant et qu'il a tenu captif pendant quelque temps; les dimensions et les teintes du pelage dont il fournit quelques détails sont absolument les mêmes que celles que je viens de tracer sur une dépouille parfaite, reçue au musée par les soins de Mr. Bürger, et envoyée sous ce même nom de Jamainu.

Le loup vit dans les contrées boisées et montagneuses; il chasse en petites familles; sa présence est aussi redoutée des Japonais que celles de notre loup dans les contrées de l'Europe, où il se montre assez souvent encore en hiver, nonobstant les poursuites assidues dont il est l'objet. Les Japonais prétendent qu'on peut manger la chair de l'Ookame mais que celle du Jamainu est nuisible pour la santé.

Notes

[1] The chapter title "Chien hodophile" is a failed attempt of the editors of the Fauna Japonica to transfer the zoological name of the Japanese wolf Canis hodophylax into French. Apparently this was due to lack of knowledge of Greek. The artepithet "hodophylax", the Greek name for the species, is composed of οδος (hodos) = way, road, trip and φυλαξ (phylax) = guardian, keeper. A Canis hodophylax thus is a dog guarding the way. The editors expressed "hodophylax" in French by "hodophile", i.e. φυλαξ changed to φιλος (philos), meaning "friend" or "devoted to". A Chien hodophile consequently would be a road loving dog or a dog who likes to travel – which is of course nonsense. Moreover, in the chapter title an "h" in "hodophylax" is missing. This has been added by us.–
Widely-used, by the way, in the literature is also the spelling "hodophilax" with an "i" instead of "y", being etymological wrong as well.

[2] In his fundamental study about the Japanese wolf Brett L. Walker explaines how – caused by unfortunate circumstances – it could happen that C. J. Temminck, the editor of Siebold's description of the Japanese wolf (see note 4), ignored the old Japanese distinction between the wolf (okami) and the mountain dog (yamainu) and equated both; see Brett L. Walker: The Lost Wolves of Japan. Foreword by William Cronon, University of Washington Press, Seattle and London 2005, pp. 31-40 and 51-54.–
What is noteworthy is that the difference between the wolf (okami) and the mountain dog (yamainu) up to now never has been satisfactorily clarified.

[3] In Japan three wolf remains are preserved which – according to a Japanese website – are taller than Siebold's specimen: 18.31" (National Science Museum, Tokyo), 18.82" (Tokyo University Agricultural Department) and 20.67" (Wakayama University).

[4] The editor Temminck is "speaking". The editors of the descriptions of the vertebrates in the Fauna Japonica were C. J. Temminck and H. Schlegel. The Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778-1858) was from 1820 until his death the first director of the National Natural History Museum at Leiden. The German zoologist Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884) worked as well at the museum in Leiden and was its director from 1860 until his death.
The editor of the descriptions of the invertebrates in the Fauna Japonica was the Dutch zoologist Wilhelm de Haan (1801-1855).

[5] The German pharmacist, chemist and naturalist Heinrich Bürger was Siebold's assistant in the trading post of the Dutch East Indian Company on the island of Deshima (Dejima) in Nagasaki Bay. Later Bürger became Siebold's successor. He lived from 1804/1806 (?) until 1858.

[6] The name Ookame simply seems to be a regional variant of okami, the Japanese word for wolf; on the varying spellings for wolf in Japanese see John Knight: Waiting for Wolves in Japan: An Anthropological Study of People-Wildlife Relations, Oxford University Press 2003, p. 195.–
The Ookame is also mentioned in the chapter about Japanese dogs (Fauna Japonica, p. 38).

[7] See note no. 1.

[1]	The chapter title "Chien hodophile" is a failed attempt of the editors of the Fauna Japonica to transfer the zoological name of the Japanese wolf Canis hodophylax into French. Apparently this was due to lack of knowledge of Greek. The artepithet "hodophylax", the Greek name for the species, is composed of οδος (hodos) = way, road, trip and φυλαξ (phylax) = guardian, keeper. A Canis hodophylax thus is a dog guarding the way. The editors expressed "hodophylax" in French by "hodophile", i.e. φυλαξ changed to φιλος (philos), meaning "friend" or "devoted to". A Chien hodophile consequently would be a road loving dog or a dog who likes to travel – which is of course nonsense. Moreover, in the chapter title an "h" in "hodophylax" is missing. This has been added by us.– Widely-used, by the way, in the literature is also the spelling "hodophilax" with an "i" instead of "y", being etymological wrong as well.
[2]	In his fundamental study about the Japanese wolf Brett L. Walker explaines how – caused by unfortunate circumstances – it could happen that C. J. Temminck, the editor of Siebold's description of the Japanese wolf (see note 4), ignored the old Japanese distinction between the wolf (okami) and the mountain dog (yamainu) and equated both; see Brett L. Walker: The Lost Wolves of Japan. Foreword by William Cronon, University of Washington Press, Seattle and London 2005, pp. 31-40 and 51-54.– What is noteworthy is that the difference between the wolf (okami) and the mountain dog (yamainu) up to now never has been satisfactorily clarified.
[3]	In Japan three wolf remains are preserved which – according to a Japanese website – are taller than Siebold's specimen: 18.31" (National Science Museum, Tokyo), 18.82" (Tokyo University Agricultural Department) and 20.67" (Wakayama University).
[4]	The editor Temminck is "speaking". The editors of the descriptions of the vertebrates in the Fauna Japonica were C. J. Temminck and H. Schlegel. The Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778-1858) was from 1820 until his death the first director of the National Natural History Museum at Leiden. The German zoologist Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884) worked as well at the museum in Leiden and was its director from 1860 until his death. The editor of the descriptions of the invertebrates in the Fauna Japonica was the Dutch zoologist Wilhelm de Haan (1801-1855).
[5]	The German pharmacist, chemist and naturalist Heinrich Bürger was Siebold's assistant in the trading post of the Dutch East Indian Company on the island of Deshima (Dejima) in Nagasaki Bay. Later Bürger became Siebold's successor. He lived from 1804/1806 (?) until 1858.
[6]	The name Ookame simply seems to be a regional variant of okami, the Japanese word for wolf; on the varying spellings for wolf in Japanese see John Knight: Waiting for Wolves in Japan: An Anthropological Study of People-Wildlife Relations, Oxford University Press 2003, p. 195.– The Ookame is also mentioned in the chapter about Japanese dogs (Fauna Japonica, p. 38).
[7]	See note no. 1.