567 45 



The Taxonomic Position of the Pteraspidae, 

 Cephalaspidae, and Asterolepidae * 



IN his notice of the life and work of the late Professor Cope, 

 published in the June number of Natural Science, Mr Arthur 

 Smith Woodward writes : — " It is mainly due to his initiative that 

 we now regard the strange Pteraspidae, Cephalaspidae, and Astero- 

 lepidae (Ostracodermi or Ostracophori as Cope termed them) of the 

 Upper Silurian and Devonian rocks as the armoured extinct allies 

 of the modern lampreys (Marsipobranchii)." 



No one, I am convinced, entertains a more sincere admiration 

 for the palteontological work of Professor Cope than I do. His 

 extraordinary insight (one might almost say ' instinct ') in dealing 

 with many problems of vertebrate morphology placed him in a very 

 high position amongst modern comparative anatomists. But his 

 genius was all the more astonishing owing to the fact that it was 

 accompanied by equally extraordinary mental deficiencies — namely, 

 a frequent failure of the power of correct conscious reasoning and 

 a love of what Mr Smith Woodward calls " wild guesses " and other 

 persons might term " baseless conclusions." 



Mr Smith Woodward, in the passage quoted, cites with approval 

 one of Cope's most empty taxonomic vagaries concerning the class 

 of fishes ; he solemnly states that it is due to Cope's " initiative " 

 that " we " now regard the Ostracodermi as Marsipobranchii. Zoo- 

 logists are of course aware of the fact that Mr Smith Woodward 

 has given the weight of his reputation as an ichthyologist to this 

 remarkable proposition. It seems to be a proper occasion, now 

 that he tells us that there are others besides himself who have 

 been impelled by Cope's initiative into so astonishing a point of 

 view, to ask Mr Smith Woodward to state the reasons which 

 induce him deliberately to assert that Pteraspis and Cephalaspis 

 are armoured Marsipobranchii. 



I think it will be generally admitted that it is not a sufficient 

 justification for upholding such a taxonomic novelty as the one in 

 question to point out that no one has s]iown any other position to 



* For a general illustrated account of these extinct organisms see Natural Science, 

 vol. i. (1892), pp. 596-602. 



