INTRODUCTION O 



economics, life histories, and related phases in the study of mammals. 

 Likewise few can become more conscious than myself of the incom- 

 pleteness of the present report on the points it endeavors to cover. 

 The chief handicap has been the sheer limitations of time, despite 

 unremitting labor during a period of practically three years. Sec- 

 ondary handicaps have been the nonavailability of certain litera- 

 ture, and the virtually unusable nature (to an Anglo-Saxon) of 

 much of the literature in the Slavic and Oriental languages. 



In nearly every case a separate account has been provided for 

 each species or subspecies coming within the scope of the present 

 report. In matters of taxonomy and nomenclature I have endeav- 

 ored to follow the best authorities available, as exemplified in recent 

 monographs, catalogues, or check-lists. However, unanimity of 

 opinion on every detail is not to be expected of the specialists in this 

 field. 



A really surprising amount of confusion in the nomenclature of 

 even some of the largest and best-known of the Old World mammals 

 has come to light as an incidental feature of the present investi- 

 gation. This seems to be due largely to lack of proper attention to 

 type descriptions and type localities, and to some extent to dis- 

 regard of the International Rules of Zoological Nomenclature. I 

 have attempted to straighten out some of the major nomenclatural 

 difficulties in two preliminary papers (Harper, 1939, 1940) , while a 

 few minor points, relating especially to type localities, are touched 

 upon in the present work. 



Each account furnishes, in addition to the technical name of the 

 mammal under discussion, its common names in English and (if 

 known) in French, German, Italian, and occasionally other lan- 

 guages of western Europe. No attempt has been made to compile 

 names from unfamiliar or unwritten languages, and in only a few 

 exceptional cases have any been included. This statement, however, 

 does not apply to such native names as may have been taken over 

 bodily into the English or other European languages. 



After the common names comes the original reference, or citation 

 of the type description. I have been able to verify probably 95 

 percent of these original references in the library of the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and a few others elsewhere. 

 A statement of the type locality is then added in parentheses ; as far 

 as feasible, it is given in the form of an exact quotation from the 

 original description. In many cases brief supplementary or explana- 

 tory remarks are called for. 



No attempt has been made to supply a complete list of synonyms, 

 and usually none whatever are cited. In certain cases, however, 

 where circumstances seem to render it advisable, one or more 

 synonyms are cited. For example, if the name considered valid and 



