PREFACE. XI 



allotted to them as doubtful natives, and not to be mixed 

 up with others which labour under no uncertainty of this 

 nature. 



Another line which the author has attempted to draw, 

 is that between what may be termed good or genuine spe- 

 cies, and such as are probably not distinct from others, 

 or which are involved in some obscurity from the circum- 

 stance of their true characters not being well understood. 

 In this latter division he has placed such animals as the 

 Catodon Sibbaldi of Fleming, the Red Lark of Lewin 

 the Lacerta cedura and L. anguiformis of Sheppard, the 

 Comber Wrasse of Pennant, the Lesser Fork-beard of Jago 

 (Raniceps Jago, Flem.), and a vast many others, especially 

 amongst the Fish, all which he would designate as doubtful 

 species ; but he has not placed in it animals, such as the 

 Eococcetus and Hippocampus^ which are perfectly good spe- 

 cies, as well as undoubtedly British, but of which the exact 

 species met with in our seas or islands remains to be deter- 

 mined *. These are often cases in which it was not sup- 

 posed that more than one species existed, at the time of 

 their being enrolled in the British Fauna. 



It must now be explained in what way these and other 

 divisions, under which the Animals of this country may be 

 parcelled, are distinguished in the present work. For this 

 purpose recourse has been had to different types, and to 

 two distinct sets of numbers. Firstly, all those well-ascer- 

 tained, or at least genuine species, which are met with at 

 the present day, or which have undoubtedly occurred at 

 one time or another within the record of history, have one 

 continuous numbering in each Class respectively, and form 



* If there are cases which appear exceptions to this rule, such as those of 

 the Manatus borealis of Fleming and the Albacore of Couch, they are instances 

 in which not only the species, but even the genus, is as yet unascertained. 



