Nihon okami (Japanese wolf) - Nihon okami (English spelling) Japanese wolf

Japanese: ニホンオオカミ(日本狼) - ニホンオオカミ（英語表記）Japanese wolf

A species of wolf also known as the mountain dog. A mammal of the Canidae family in the carnivora order (illustration). It once inhabited Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, but is now extinct. Its body length is 105 cm, and its tail length is about 30 cm. Its body is smaller than that of the gray wolf, with a short and wide snout, and its limbs and ears are also short and small. The shape of its skull is significantly different from that of the gray wolf, with no high forehead and small ear bones. In addition, while gray wolves and dogs have five small holes in the lower part of the temporal fossa through which nerves and blood vessels pass, Japanese wolves often have six, which is similar to that of wild dogs and dholes, and so this species is considered to be an extremely primitive wolf.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ヤマイヌとも呼ばれたオオカミの1種。食肉目イヌ科の哺乳類（イラスト）。かつて本州，四国，九州に分布していたが絶滅した。体長105cm，尾長30cmほど。体はタイリクオオカミより小型で，吻（ふん）は短く幅が広く，四肢や耳介も短く小さい。頭骨の形態はタイリクオオカミと著しく異なり，額の高まりがなく，耳の骨が小さい。また，側頭窩と呼ばれる部分の下部にある神経や血管の通ずる小孔がタイリクオオカミやイヌでは5個であるのに対し，ニホンオオカミでは多くは6個で，リカオンやドールに類似することなどから，本種はきわめて原始的なオオカミであると考えられる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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