Mammals 21 



haroldcooki, or Harold Cook's western monkey, is known only by 

 a couple of molar teeth. To announce such a surprising discovery 

 on such a small basis was of course to invite criticism, and this 

 was not wanting. Nevertheless, subsequent and very minute 

 studies seem only to confirm the original determination, which 

 must apparently be regarded as valid. Gregory and Hellman 

 (1923) go as far as to hint that Hespcropithecus may be actually 

 ancestral to man, which if verified might tend to establish the 

 genus Homo as of American origin. Even were this true, — and 

 it seems extremely improbable — , it would still presumably be a 

 fact that true or modern man, Homo sapiens, reached America 

 from Asia. The original Homo must have been of a more prim- 

 itive type, more resembling those species of Hominidae which 

 have been found fossil in Europe and Asia, but never in America. 

 Although the Hespcropithecus has as yet only been found in 

 Nebraska, he or it must have roamed over Colorado, and we may 

 be fortunate enough to find further remains in this State. The 

 discovery of a skull of this creature would be an event of the 

 highest importance, instantly claiming the attention of intelligent 

 people the world over. 



In a catalogue of the living mammals of Colorado, it is quite 

 proper to include man. Linnaeus, a century before Darwin's 

 Origin of Species, did not hesitate to include man in the animal 

 kingdom, in the same order (Primates) as the monkeys. We 

 were given the scientific name Homo sapiens, the wise or knowing 

 man, though it must be confessed that we have not always quite 

 lived up to it. Linnaeus even had the conception of a human 

 progenitor, which he called the wild man, and described as "tetra- 

 pus, mutus, hirsutus," four-footed, without speech, and hairy. 

 Dr. D. S. Jordan, in his Manual of the Vertebrates, says that this 

 is the "typical var. sapiens," which if accepted would prevent 

 us from using the designation for modern mankind! For the 

 wild man of Linnaeus, if not mythical, must have been founded 

 on legends of the higher apes. We should then have to fall back 

 of the next designation, and call the species Homo americanus* 

 Actually, Homo sapiens americanus of Linnaeus is the proper 

 name for the aboriginal man of Colorado, the so-called Indian. 



*We, the white men of European origin, would be Homo americanus europeus (Linnaeus). 

 But G. S. Miller (1924) considers europeus to be typical sapiens, and therefore a superflous name. 



