X MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



Amphibious, but are far apart in true relationships. In addition Ray designated many 

 terms that are in use today such as Carnivora, Ungulata and Insectivora. 



The real foundation of modern scientific classification is found in Linnaeus (i 707-1 778). 

 His Systema Naturcc passed through twelve editions; beginning in 1735 as a mere 

 brochure of twelve pages, by the time the twelfth edition was published, in 1766, he had so 

 added to it that it was a work of 2400 pages. The Systema Naturcc is an orderly treat- 

 ment in a systematic manner of the entire animal kingdom as then known. The analysis 

 is philosophical, the diagnoses clear and workable, and the details quite generally correct. 

 The modern designation of an animal by two names (the lion = Felis leo) goes back to 

 Linnaeus. He coined the word " mammal " and made the possession of mammae a char- 

 acter of the entire class. This brought together in a single class for the first time the terres- 

 trial hairs' quadrupeds and the whales. Man was placed among the Primates, where he belongs. 

 After Linnaeus, Erxleben (1777), Buffon, and Daubenton (1753-1767), Geoffrey St. Hilaire 

 and G. Cuvier (1795), Cuvier (i 796-1836), De Blainville (1816, 1834), Darwin and Huxley, 

 Owen (1868), Gill (1870), Cope (1891, 1898) and Weber (1904) are the most important 

 •workers among a number of earnest students of animal life. The later steps are mainly 

 the result of a better knowledge of anatomy, an increased amount of material for study, 

 and the refinement of scientific methods in general. 



ORDERS AND OTHER GROUPS 



The scientific classification of today is based upon a progression of subdivisions begin- 

 ning with the class and ending with the species and sub-species. The class is subdivided 

 into sub-classes, the members of each sub-class having some group of important fundamental 

 characters in common. The next subdivision in rank is the order, which is itself a very large 

 group, then next in importance follows the sub-order, beneath that the family and sub-family, 

 the genus and sub-genus and finally the species and sub-species. The following diagram 

 illustrates this arrangement better than a written description. 



CLASS — MAMMALIA ^ MAMMALS 



Sub-class - Eutheria = Modem Mammals 



Order — Marsupialia = Marsupials, or Pouched IVIammals. 



Order — Edentata == Sloths, Armadillos, etc. 



Order — Ungulata = Hoofed Mammals. 



Order — vSirenia = Manatees, Dugongs. 



Order — Cetacea = Whales, Porpoises, Dolphins. 



Order — Rodentia = Rodents. 



Order — Carnivora = Flesh-eating Mammals. 



Order — Insectivora = Insect-eating Mammals. 



Order — Chiroptera = Bats. 



Order — Primates == Lemurs, Monkeys, Apes, Man. 



The above carries the classification through all the mammalian orders of the world. 

 Each order in turn is subdivided in much the same manner as the following diagram : 



Order — Rodentia. 



Sub-order — Simplicidentata = Rats, Squirrels, etc. 

 Family — Muridae = Rats and Mice. 



Sub-family — Microtinae == Meadow Mice, Voles. 

 Genus — Microtus = Common Meadow Mice. 



Species — pennsylvanicus = Eastern Meadow Mouse 



