Turning to the tailless or so-called Manx cats, in which the tail should be represented merely by a tuft of hair without any remnant of bone, it seems that the strain is to be met with in many parts of Russia, and there is a very general opinion that it originally came from Japan or some other far eastern country.
A tadpole is the larva of a tailless Batrachian after the loss of the external gills and before the egress of the fore limbs (except in the aberrant Xenopus) and the resorption of the tail.
Characteristic forms of this order in northern Asia are the marmots (Arctomys) and the pikas, or tailless hares (Lagomys).
Stories of tailless kittens, puppies and calves, born from parents one of whom had been thus injured, are abundant, but they have hitherto entirely failed to stand before examination.
It is the home of the Columbia black-tail deer, western raccoon, Oregon spotted skunk, Douglas red squirrel, Townsends chipmunk, tailless sewellel (Haplodcn rufus), peculiar species of pocket gophers and voles, Pacific coast forms of the great-horned, spotted, screech and pigmy owls, sooty grouse, Oregon ruffed grouse, Stellers jay, chestnutbacked chickadee and Pacific winter wren.