From:
Charles Lyell, 1st baronet
To:
Charles Robert Darwin
Date:
28 Oct 1859
Source of text:
The University of Edinburgh Centre for Research Collections (Lyell collection Coll-203/A3/4: 170–3)
Summary:
Since dogs have same gestation period as the wolf it is likely that the wolf is the ancestral wild species, if it is just one species.
CD’s belief that domestic dogs are descended from several distinct aboriginal species seems to contradict views on sterility of hybrids and variation in Origin. If domestic varieties came from hybrids of wild species it will be impossible to trace ancestry. Opponents will exploit these problems.
Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project