I.VTRODUCTIOX. 



The synonymy has been thoroughly revised, the original descrip- 

 tions having been consulted in every case. A list of the principal 

 \vorks quoted, with their abbreviated titles, is appended. The 

 British-Museum catalogues by Dr. Gray are referred to as seldom 

 as possible, because of their inaccuracy. A considerable proportion 

 of the mistakes made by Indian naturalists, in nomenclature espe- 

 cially, may be traced to these catalogues. 



Space does not permit the addition of a sketch of mammalian 

 anatomy. The accompanying woodcuts of a lion's skeleton and of 

 a dog's skull will suffice to show the names and position of the 

 principal bones. For further details with regard to the skeleton 

 the student will do well to consult Flower's ' Introduction to the 

 Osteology of the Mammalia,' from which, by permission of the 

 author and publishers, the woodcuts of a dog's skull are taken. 

 For the anatomy of the soft parts no similar compendium exists ; a 

 sketch will be found in the article " Mammalia " in the ' Encyclo- 

 paedia Britanuica,' but a general work on mammalian anatomy is 

 still wanted. The teeth have been treated in separate works by 

 Owen, Giebel, and others. Here it is only necessary to say that they 

 are divided into incisors, canines, premolars, and molars; that the 

 three first-named are, as a rule, preceded in the young mammal by 

 milk or deciduous teeth ; that the upper canine is the tooth behind 

 the premaxillary suture or in contact with it, and the lower canine 

 the tooth that, when the jaws are closed, comes immediately in 

 front of the upper canine ; the teeth in front of the canines are 

 incisors, those behind premolars and molars. 



It will be difficult within the limited space available for me to 

 acknowledge the assistance of all who have aided me in preparing 

 the present work. I am indebted particularly to General R. 

 Strachey and Col. Tule, and equally so to Professor Flower and 

 Dr. Giinther for aid most liberally given on all occasions, also to 

 Mr. P. L. Sclater, Dr. J. Anderson, Sir J. Fayrer, Prof. A. Newton, 

 Mr. A. Hume, Prof. Mivart, Mr. J. Scully, Sir 0. B. St. John, 

 Col. J. Biddulph, Mr. Davison, Captain Bingham, Mr. W. Daly, 

 Eev. S. Fan-bank, Mr. Wood Mason, Mr. W. L. Sclater, Mr. H. 

 E. Watson, the late Mr. L. Mandelli, and Mr. J. Murray, for 

 assistance of various kinds. Above all I am under obligations to 

 Mr. G. E. Dobson and Mr. Oldfield Thomas, not merely for the 

 great extent to which this work has been facilitated by their 

 writings, but also for advice and information of many kinds and 

 on numerous occasions. But for Mr. Dobson's researches amongst 

 the Chiroptera and Insectivora, the labour of preparing a work on 

 Indian Mammalia would have been greater by at least one third. 



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