vi PREFACE 



replace some -which were already occupied ; these have been pro- 

 posed by Mr. Lydekker, and should be quoted as his. 



The work is based largely upon the article " Mammalia," to- 

 gether with forty shorter articles, written by the senior of the two 

 authors for the ninth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. The 

 account of the orders Rodentia, Insectivora, and Chiroptera con- 

 tributed to the article "Mammalia" by Dr. G. E. Dobson, F.R.S., 

 as well as the articles "Mole," "Shrew," and "Yampyre," by the 

 same writer, the articles "Marmot," "Mouse," "Opossum," "Phal- 

 anger," "Rat," "Squirrel," "Stoat," "Vole," and others, by Mr. 

 Oldfield Thomas, and likewise the article "Ape," by Dr. St. G. 

 Mivart, F.R.S., have also been made use of to a greater or less 

 extent. The best thanks of the authors are due to these three 

 gentlemen for freely permitting the incorporation of their own 

 work in the present volume. 



Mr. Lydekker undertook the task of arranging the various 

 articles in their proper sequence, selecting from these such portions 

 a- seemed suitable, filling up the gaps, and adding new matter 

 where necessary ; a large amount of this new matter treating of the 

 extinct forms, and also of the group Artiodactyla. 



The subsequent revision, both before being sent to the printers, 

 and also when passing through the press, has been made by both 

 authors, who are thus jointly responsible for the whole work. 



The illustrations are to a great extent those prepared for the 

 various articles in the Encyclopaedia, but many have been added 

 — some drawn expressly for the work, and some borrowed from 

 other publications. For most of the latter the authors take this 

 opportunity of expressing their thanks to the Publication Com- 



