440 ON ANTHROPOID APES. [DeC. 13, 



distinguishing all local races by a name we prevent the creation 

 of useless synonyms by foi'cing the inexperienced student to 

 study all of these before desciibing what appears to him a new 

 species. 



As to the method of denoting by names geographical laces, there 

 are many views, but I consider that much the most practical 

 method is to add a third name to the two already jDOSsessed by the 

 species. This method is no novelty, for it has been done since 

 the time of Linnseus, the third name being coupled to the first 

 two by the term " varietas." So long as " varietas " was oidy 

 iised to express a " geographical race " it answered very well, but 

 soon it was also applied to individual vaiiations and confusion 

 reigned supreme. I consider, therefore, that it is impoi'tant to 

 abolish "varietas" from our nomenclature entirely, as it has so 

 often been wrongly used, and to substitute the tei'm " subsjjecies " 

 for '■• geograjjMcal races" and the term " ahberatio" for '■'■indi- 

 vidual variaiio7is" Thus the South Camaroons Goiilla would be 

 called 



Gorilla gorilla subspecies matschiei ; 



but this interpolation of the word subspecies makes the name very 

 long and cumbersome, so that I and most Continental and 

 Amei'ican zoologists have agreed to leave out the term " sub- 

 species" and to write the names of geographical races thus: 

 Gorilla gorilla matschiei. It is seen, therefore, that this so-called 

 innovation is no innovation at all, but simply the using of the 

 long-established formula for local races in an abbi-eviated and 

 more convenient form — i. e., instead of writing Gorilla gorilla 

 varietas matschiei, we simply leave out the word "varietas" or 

 its equivalent. 



The chief reason, however, why I hold that geographical races 

 ought to be named and diagnosed is that it facilitates so much the 

 study of geographical distiibution. Also the habits of local races 

 are often widely different, and it prevents error's if diflferences in 

 habits can be correlated to outwaixl ditferences. 



Some zoologists maintain that it is a mistake to describe "sub- 

 species," as we cannot tell where individual variation ends and 

 geographical variation begins. 



This holds good only in the case of Reptiles, Fish, Mollusca, 

 and most pi-obabiy in the majority of the lowei- invertebrates ; but 

 in Insects, Birds, and Mammals it is practically always possible 

 to tell whether a difference is racial or individual, and, I believe, 

 even in the pi'eviously mentioned groups it will eventually be 

 possible to define geographical races. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXIV. 



Simla vellerosiis (Gray) (very old male) : p. 425. 



