History Tahitian Dog

the taumi, traditional breast ornament, fringed dog hair tuamotus, james cook collection: australian museum

they essential part of traditional tahitian society. dog teeth fashioned fishhooks , dog bones made weapons , implements. used dog hair, long tail hairs of tuamotuan varieties of dogs, decorate fringes of taumi – traditional breast ornament called gorget – worn priests , high chiefs. tuamotuan breed described similar tahitian counterparts distinguishable longer hair. historian margaret titcomb noted tuamotuan varieties may not have been separate breed developed in isolation, arguing people of tuamotus have eaten short hair varieties , kept longer haired dogs exports society islands.

the tahitian dog became extinct in society islands time after arrival of european settlers due introduction , interbreeding european dog breeds. 1834, british traveler frederick debell bennett noted: amongst society islands, aboriginal dog, formerly eaten delicacy natives, extinct, or merged mongrel breeds propagation many exotic varieties. other breeds of polynesian dogs became extinct due interbreeding foreign dogs beginning of 20th century.

this breed , other polynesian dogs considered distinct species 18th century naturalists , scientists, , received scientific names such canis domesticus, indicus taitiensis (1778) georg forster, canis familiaris villaticus, meridionalis (1817) f. l. walther, canis otahitensis (1836) or canis familiaris orthotus otahitensis (1836) heinrich gottlieb ludwig reichenbach, canis pacificus (1845) charles hamilton smith, , canis familiaris otahitensis (1859) christoph gottfried andreas giebel. luomala noted source material of taxonomists has been derived, @ second- , third-hand, impressionistic descriptions members of expeditions of captain cook , other eighteenth-century explorers, none of whom give single measurement or preserved specimen scientific study .