APPENDIX. 13 



Page 261. 

 GENUS URSUS. 



"GRIZZLY BEAR URSUS HORRIBILIS." This of Ord's, is the first 

 tenable name for the West American form, which many eminent natur- 

 alists consider too intimately related to Urus arctos to form a distinct 

 species. For further discussion of it see notes on page 299. See also, 

 Ord., Jour, de Phys., 1818, 152. 



"American Bear Ursus Americanus.'' The term, American Bear, first 

 used by Turton and copied by Ord, is a better name for our animal than 

 "Black Bear," by which it is so generally called. Black bears are to be 

 found among several so-called species, and not infrequently our "Black 

 Bear," is brown. Custom, however, will probably retain the name 

 in spite of any effort to establish the more distinctive title. 



"Badger Ursus meles." 



"American Badger Ursus Labrador/us." The critical reader is referred to 

 Dr. Coues 1 history of the American Badger (Fur. B. Anim. 1877, 261-292.) 

 for discussion of the points of synonymy, etc., involved in its separation 

 from the European Badger. Dr. Coues makes his first reference in the 

 synonymatic list to the "Ursus taxus," of Schreber (Saugt. iii, 1778, 

 520, PI. 142 B.). This reference was not verified by Dr. Coues, as he 

 states on page 276, adding that Schreber "is cited for a name, "Ursus 

 taxus" as applicable to the American Badger though quoted as con- 

 sidering our species as distinct from the European." It is unfortunate 

 Dr. Coues did not make this reference, as he evidently thinks the name 

 "Taxus," first used for a Badger by Aldrovanus (?) and in a specific 

 sense by Schreber, as above quoted, was originally intended (as now 

 universally and erroneously applied) for the European species. 



That this view is erroneous the description of Schreber, (sup. cit.) 

 and his plate plainly show. In these he has almost as explicitly shown 

 the external differences between his American Badger, U. taxus, and his 

 European Badger, U. meles, as has Dr. Coues, and often in equivalent 

 terms. 



Taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1778) should therefore stand as the proper 

 name of the American Badger. The later use of the name "tajrus" by 

 Boddaert, (Elench. Anim., 1784), after the specific name "Afe/es," of 

 Linnaeus was made generic, for the European form, is inadmissible. This, 

 as well as his "var. americanus" are synonymsof taxus. 



Blumenbach, (Hand. Natur., 1799, 96), misquoted by Gray (B. M. 

 Cat. Carniv., (etc.) 1869, 124), gives to the European Badger the name 

 "taxus' \ quoting Schreber (sup. cit.), having mistaken the ta.rns of 

 that author for the European animal and ignoring his "Ursus meles" 

 entirely. Blumenbach's description refers soley to the European form* 



The proper name for the European Badger is Meles 



