A FIRST PRIZE OF SUDAN 



161 



conclusions and named the animal after his wife, Cobus maria> 

 " Mrs Gray's waterbuck." l 



It is thus clear that Gray undertook to describe and to 

 classify an animal of whose specialised characters as, e.g., the 

 elongated hoofs which dominate its systematic status (to say 

 nothing of its life-habits and economies) he then possessed 

 no shred of knowledge. For, at the time, all he had before 

 him was this pair of skulls and masks. Therein, according to 

 my view, he was guilty of a grave scientific offence ; but in 

 this condemnation Dr Gray does not stand alone. On the 

 contrary, he is merely one of a crowd of fellow-criminals, 

 since that type of "crime" has become well-nigh a form of 



i and 2. HOOFS OF LECHWI. 3. HOOF OF HARTEBEEST. " RUBBER-TYRED." 



original sin amongst our systematists and closet-naturalists. 

 Many are prepared some almost panting ! to bestow long 

 and irrevocable Latin names (in triplicate) on creatures of which 

 they possess practically no knowledge or say, perhaps a flat 

 skin, or a skull or two, with or without the mask. Such 

 "material" is obviously inadequate. Equally obvious it is that 

 such System connotes, not Science, but Speculation. 



The present is a case in point, but similar instances occur 

 daily and could be cited by the dozen. I will content myself 



1 Adenota megaceros is what is termed in the technique of zoology, 

 a nomen nudum that is, it had no specific diagnosis appended. Heuglin, 

 it is true, did not " describe J j his discovery ; but he did what is tenfold 

 more important he brought home seven complete specimens. These 

 sufficiently describe themselves. It is, to me, utterly inconceivable that 

 any contemporary zoologist could be wholly unaware of these facts. 



L 



