PREFACE 



THE developmental history of this book has been somewhat 

 complicated. The first German edition appeared in 1882, under 

 the title of Lehrbuch der vergleich^nde Anatomic der Wirbeltiere> 

 and a second edition followed in 1886. In 1884, a short 

 Grundriss was published, which, after passing through four 

 editions and gradually increasing in size, replaced the Lehrbuch 

 under the title of Vergleichende Anatomic der Wirbeltiere, in 1902. 

 A further edition appeared in 1906, and this was followed by a 

 shorter Einfuhrung in 1907 : the latter was written to meet the 

 requirements of beginners, and it contains no bibliography. 



The first and second English editions (1886 and 1897) were 

 based respectively on the first and third editions of the Grundriss, 

 and considerable modifications in detail were introduced. The 

 present (third) edition, which has been almost entirely re-written, 

 was prepared from the German editions of 1906 and 1907, and I 

 am much indebted to Professor Wiedersheim for allowing me to 

 make such alterations as seemed desirable in the interests of 

 English students, and for the pleasure of his collaboration last 

 summer, when I had the advantage of discussing various points 

 with him personally. 



The general plan of the original has been retained throughout, 

 but I found it advisable to extend some portions and to abridge 

 others, besides making various minor modifications. 



After re-editing by Professor Wiedersheim, the bibliography 

 given in the German original is inserted entire, except that the 

 titles and references have been abbreviated and slight rearrange- 

 ments made in order to save space : I have also ventured to 

 introduce a few additions. Though rather extensive for a work of 



