38 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXVII, 



all ordinal divisions and simply sets down the genera in series, adopting as 

 chief generic characters, the front teeth, nature of the manus, mammse, tail, 

 etc. 



Erxleben is thus another advocate of "I'ecole des faits" (cf. Perrault 

 p. 39), rejecting and reacting against imperfect generalizations, evidently 

 believing that "analysis must precede synthesis," but also that the time for 

 synthesis is not yet ripe. 



About this time Sir Joseph Banks, sailing in his own vessel with Captain 

 Cook's famous expedition round the world (1768-1771), brings back Kan- 

 garoos, Wombats, Dasyures and other marsupials from Austndia. Pha- 

 langers had previously been known from the Dutch East Indies and were at 

 first described as " Didelphis orientalis" by Brisson in 1762 (Palmer, 1904). 

 Kangaroos and Wallabies were at first described as rodents allied to the 

 Jerboa (" Jaculus orientalis" Erxleben, 1777), while the Wombat and Dasyure 

 were assigned to Didelphis by Shaw. Thus the mammals which above all 

 others were to illustrate the misleading effects of homoplastic evolution were 

 at first not recognized as a distinct group, but were distributed among the 

 forms which they paralleled. 



Another naturalist-traveler who may be mentioned here conveniently is 

 the famous Russian explorer Pallas, whose 'Reisen durch verschiedene 

 Provincen des russischen Reichs' were published in 1771-76. He carefully 

 described and figured the exterior, the anatomy, and (especially in the case 

 of small mammals) the osteology, of numerous antilopes, bats, rodents, the 

 Aard Vark, or " ]\I\Tmecophaga africanum" [Orycteropus], the "Cavia 

 capensis" [Hr/rax], the "Aper sethiopicus" [Phacochoeriis]. These genera 

 (except the Aard Vark) are figured in his 'Spicilegia Zoologica' (1767-1804), 

 especially the 'Novre species Quadrupedum e Glirinum Ordine,' Erlangge, 

 1778. 



4. The pre-Cuvierian Epoch. 

 S3aiopsis. 



Renewed reaction against speculation and tradition. The " ecole des faits." 



Description and dissection of mammals without any principles of classi- 

 fication (e. g., Perrault, Daubenton). 



Foundfition of comparative anatomy and osteology {e. g., Daubenton, 

 Vicq d'Az}T). 



Gradual recognition of natural groups and development of the Linnsean 

 classification {e. g., Vicq d'Azyr, Blumenbach). 



Beginnings of "philosophical zoology.'' 



