X PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 



dan's ''Guide to the Study of Fishes" and "Manual of Vertebrates," 

 and also of Forbes and Richardson's "Fishes of Illinois," the general 

 arrangement of the main subdivisions of the Class being based on the 

 last-named work. Smith's "Fishes of North Carolina," Bean's 

 "Fishes of New York," and the various papers in the Bulletins of the 

 Fish Commission and the Bureau of Fisheries, as well as numerous 

 other publications, have also been used. In the arrangement of the 

 Lampreys the recent revision of Creaser and Hubbs published by the 

 Museum of Zoology of the University of Michigan has been followed. 



The arrangement of the Amphibians and Reptiles has been based 

 upon Stejneger and Barbour's "Check List of North American Amphi- 

 bians and Reptiles" and the descriptions and keys upon Cope's "Batra- 

 chia of North America" and Cope's " Crocodilians, Lizards and Snakes 

 of North America." Extensive use has also been made of many other 

 works, especially Miss Dickerson's "Frog Book," Ditmar's "Reptile 

 Book," and the State Reports of several States. The author is under 

 an especial obligation to the important Smith college group of Herpe- 

 tologists for bringing his arrangement and descriptions down to date, 

 the morphological studies of Professor H. H. Wilder and Professor 

 I. W. Wilder and the systematic studies of Professor E. R. Dunn having 

 contributed to this end. The latter author, especially, has revised the 

 sections on the caudate Amphibians and the Snakes and Turtles, the 

 synopsis of the larvae of the Plethodontidae, which is largely new matter, 

 being wholly by him. Dr. G. Kingsley Noble of the American Museum 

 of Natural. History, New York, has revised the section on Frogs and 

 Toads, and Karl P. Schmidt of the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, 

 that on Lizards and Crocodilians. The synopsis of the eggs and larvae 

 of Frogs and Toads has been taken from A. H. Wright's "Life History 

 of the Anura of Ithaca, New York." 



The arrangement of the Mammals is based upon Gerrit S. Miller, 

 Jr.'s "List of the North American Land Mammals in the United States 

 National Museum, 191 1." For the description and keys full use has 

 been made of the various numbers of "The North American Fauna" 

 prepared under the direction of C. Hart Merriam, former Director of 

 the United States Biological Survey, the publication of which has been 

 of epochal importance in the study of American mammals. Many 

 other works have been useful, especially Elliot's "Synopsis of the 

 Mammals of North America and adjacent Seas," which is a work of 

 fundamental importance. For accounts of the life and habits of 

 mammals. Stone and Cram's "American Animals," Nelson's "Wild 

 Animals," Seton's "Northern Animals," and Audubon and Bachman's 



