48 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [A'ol. XX^'II, 



matter and general principles of his classification. He cjuotes, for example, 

 Marggrav (1684), Catesby (1731), J. D. Meyers (174S), Bufton, Brisson 

 (1756 or 1762), Linnseus (,1766), Schreber, Pallas (1766), Erxleben (1777), 

 Blumenbach (1779), and Liske (1779). From Ray, or perhaps Klein, 

 he adopts and improves the group "Verminei," and from Linnaeus he takes 

 most of his genera, and the orders "Jumenta," "Pecora," "Bellufe" and 

 "Rosores" (Glires Linn.), as well as the name "Primates" and perhaps 

 "Ungulata" and "Unguiculata," which were, however, the common property 

 of post-Raian naturalists. From Brisson he adopts the genera Prosimia, 

 Meles, Hyoena, Glis, Cafaphracfus [Dasi/pus], Pholidotus [Manis], and 

 Giraffa. He follows Linne in admitting Man to the system, but leans 

 toward Blumenbach's idea in giving him the rank of a "Sectio," which is, 

 however, merely a division of the comprehensive "order" Primates. He 

 fails to appreciate Linne's acumen in associating the seals with the terrestrial 

 animals, but in his group "Pinnipedia" including the seals and Manatus 

 he follows rather those numerous authors who in bringing animals together 

 were influenced by the nature of the locus, or medium. 



The best and most original features of Storr's system are the following: 



(1) He "greatly improved upon the genera of the 'Systema Mamma- 

 lium' by their limitation to species naturally and more closely allied" (Gill, 

 p. v). In this ]irocess he split oft' from older genera the new genera Procebus, 

 Tarsius, Phalanger, Gulo, MeUivora, Nasua, Procyon, Lagomys [Storr non 

 Cuvier], and Pholidotus [Manis]. 



(2) He did not adopt the heterogeneous assemblage "Bruta," but 

 correctly grouped the Edentates under the name of "^Nlutici" (from "muti- 

 cus," docked, curtailed), probably in allusion to the imperfect development 

 of tlie teeth. The group was placed next to the "Rosores," or rodents, as a 

 grand division of the Cohort Unguiculata. His arrangement of the Ungu- 

 lates recalls that of Blumenbach. 



(3) He recognized that the Australian mammal described by Brisson 

 and Pallas as Didclphis orientalis was generically distinct from the American 

 genus and accordingly he erected the new genus Phalanger for its reception. 



Storr's tables of classification of the mammals are given below. In 

 the original (as copied by Gill) the relations of the groups are expressed 

 by means of brackets, lines of asterisks and other symbols. Here the same 

 relations are expressed by means of " indentation." 



