Preface 



I GIVE in the following pages an account of one hun- 

 dred and seventeen kinds of animals, with shorter 

 references to some others, the great majority of which 

 are certain to be represented in most Zoological Gardens. 

 These types of vertebrate life are placed in due relation 

 to each other by some details concerning the structure and 

 classification of the vertebrata, which precede in an 

 orderly way the sections referring to those several 

 types. The volume thus contains a sketch of verte- 

 brate life which may serve as an introduction to more 

 exhaustive studies. It will also, I hope, be of some 

 assistance to those who desire to know something of the 

 great variety of animal life exhibited in these institu- 

 tions, and as a guide to the mammals, birds, reptiles, 

 and amphibians therein collected together. 



FRANK E. BEDDARD. 



October, 1904. 



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