444 JSotes on Georychus and its Allies. 



bone of tlie male. The latter, however, is of more normal 

 shape, round in section, thick at base, tapering terminally. 



One o£ the causes of the \vide distribution of similar forms 

 is no doubt the habit of these animals of frequenting in the 

 dry-season the empty beds of the rivers, and then when the 

 water comes down in flood such as survive are carried along 

 to make further colonies lower down, by which process the 

 Cryptomys of rivers hundreds of miles in length are preserved 

 from local isolation. 



These facts about this difficult group have been gradually 

 impressing themselves on mammalogists for some time, and 

 it was hoped that by the increase of collections and literature 

 a proper understanding of the true state of things would be 

 reached. But unfortunately for South-African mammalogy 

 a worker in the Transvaal Museum has recently written a 

 number of papers * in which he has given names to nearly a 

 score of " species ^' of Cryptomys without reference to any 

 of the older collections or any adequate quotation of the 

 literature of the subject. He appears not to have learnt the 

 underlying basis of scientific mammalogy, which is the non- 

 occurrence of closely allied species on the same ground, for 

 we find such surprises as the description of four species of 

 small Cryptomys from Pretoria alone and many others from its 

 near neighbourhood. His species are ostensibly based on the 

 characters of the skull — now known, as above explained, to 

 be of little importance, — but these are so described and with 

 such insufficient comparison one with another that it is quite 

 impossible to identify them. Even an albino is described 

 as a new species, Georychus alius I 



The character of the work is of the same quality in other 

 groups of mammals. 



These papers are published in the official journal of the 

 Transvaal Museum, and I would respectfully urge on the 

 authorities of that institution to consider what a fatal effect 

 the issue of such work is likely to have on the reputation of 

 their Museum and its standing in scientific estimation. I 

 feel perfectly certain that they will not wish their finely got 

 up journal to be the vehicle for what is little short of a catas- 

 tropiie to one of the sciences they deal wath. 



Mr. Roberts's obvious enthusiasm for mammalogy might 

 have been made of the greatest service to science had he 

 consulted any of the older workers, and had he learnt from 

 them a little caution before rushing into print on so difficult 

 a subject. 



* Austin Eoberts, " The Collection of Mammals in tlie Transvaal 

 Museum," Annals of the Transvaal Museum, 1913, and Supplements, 

 19U-1917. 



