APPENDIX. 25 



(Reg. An., i, 1817, 267) was the first to recognize the Rocky Mountain 

 Sheep as distinct from the Asiatic Argali, but he gave it the same 

 binomial as that previously given by Ord (vid. infra) to the Rocky Moun- 

 tain Goat ("Sheep") Mazanta montana (Ord) Rafinesque. 



Shaw, (Nat. Misc., xv., t. 610) figured and described this species under 

 the name Ovis canadensis, but this work, being without any date whatever, 

 the name is unavailable, though it probably has priority over any other. 

 Ovis cervina Desmarest (Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat., 1818, 551) is the next 

 available name.* 



Desmaresc (sup. cit.) quotes Geoffrey for "Ovis montana" but his refer- 

 ence, "Ann. Mus., 2, pi. 40," shows he did not consult it, as the plate is 

 numbered "58" and named "Berlier de Montagne." In Geoffroy's de- 

 scription (pp. 360 363) the plate is numbered "PI. LX" ! Nowhere is a 

 binomial Greek or Latin name applied to the animal. Gray (Cat. B. 

 Mus., i, 1850, 177) wrongly makes the same reference to Geoffrey in the 

 synonymy of this species and even attributes the same name to Richard- 

 son, who never used it ! 



"ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP OVIS MCKTANUS."= Rocky Mountain Goat, 

 Mazama montana (Ord) Rafinesque. The context, (pp. 309, 310) 

 shows that Ord intended this name lor what is now known as the Goat. 

 For discussion of the confusion of the Rocky Mountain Goat and Sheep 

 by earlier authors, see my notes for pages 308, 309 & 310, also Dr. Coues, 

 Lewis & Ciark, ed. 1893, pp. 850, 851. Prof. Baird (Mam. N. Am., 1857, 

 665) rejects the generic name Mazama Rafinesque (, J ,mer. Month. Mag., 

 i, 1817, 44) because of its heterogeneous character. In this view he is 

 supported by Mr. Alston (sup. cit. p. 113). Rafinesque certainly intend- 

 ed to represent by this genus a class of animals "with solid, simple, 

 straight, round and permanent horns." The Temamazame (sup. cit.) is 

 the first of the three given under this genus with the name Mazama tema 

 but it has been since identified as a Cervus, C. rufinus (B. & P. sup. cit.) 

 and hence cannot stand as the type of Mazama. The next two, M. dor- 

 sata and M. sericea refer unmistakably to the Rocky Mountain Goat, 

 Rafinesque quoting Ord's Ovis montana for the first and Blainville'sy^w/'z- 

 lope (Rupicapra) Americana (Bull, des Sci. Philom., 1816, 80) for the 

 second. 



Contrary to the assertions of some earlier writers, Mazama, as defined 

 by Rafinesque, has not the remotest reference to Antilocapra americana 

 Ord. If Mr. Alston's assertion, that the Temamacame of Hernandez is 

 the Black-faced Brocket, Cariacus ntfinus (B. & P.), (sup. cit.), be true, 

 it should stand as Cariacus tema (Raf. ). 



The general acceptation of certain other genera of Rafinesque's, of 

 doubtful status, makes it quite consistent that Mazama should be re- 

 tained, but the law of priority in sequence of enumeration of species 

 under a newly proposed genus, if strictly adhered to, makes C. tema the 

 type ; and the genus Mazama by such an interpretation is worthless. 



Since this 'was written I find that Mr. Alston (Biol. Cent. Araer., p. Ill (foot note) comes to the 

 same conclusion. 



