104 NORTHERN HARE. 



following year, Dr. Godman gave a description of the Norttern Hare, re- 

 ferring it to the Lepus variabilis of Europe ! 



After Dr. Richardson's return from his perilous journey through the 

 Polar regions, he prepared in England his valuable Fauna Boreali Ameri- 

 cana, which was published in 1829. Specimens labelled jL. AmencawMS 

 of Eexleben, were still in the British Museum, and he published descrip- 

 tions of his own specimens, under that name. The gray rabbit did not 

 come within the range of his investigations, but having received a hun- 

 ter's skin, from the vicinity of the Columbia river, he supposed it to be 

 the L. Virginianus of Haklan, and described it under that name. This 

 skin, however, has since proved to belong to a different species ; the 

 Northern Hare not being found in the regions bordering that river. 



In 18.37, having several new species of Hare to describe, we began to 

 look into this subject, and endeavoured to correct the errors in regard to 

 the species, that had crept into the works of various authors. 



We had not seen Erxleben's work, and supposing that the species were 

 correctly designated, we published our views of the habits, &c., of the 

 two species, (whose identitj' and proper cognomen we haA'e, we hope, 

 just established,) under the old names of L. Virginianus and L. Ameri- 

 canus, (see Jour, of Acad, of Nat. Sciences of Phila., vol. vii., pi. 2. p. 

 282.) The article had scarcely been printed, before we obtained a copy 

 of Erxleben, and we immediately perceived and corrected the errors that 

 had been committed, giving the Northern Hare its correct name, L. Anteri- 

 canus, and bestowing on the gray rabbit, which, through the mistakes 

 w^e have already described, had been left without any name, that of 

 Lepus sylvaticus, (Jour. Acad. Nat. Sciences of Phil., vol. vii., p. 403.) 

 The reasons for this arrangement were given in our remarks on the 

 genus Lepus, in a subsequent paper, (Jour. Acad. Sc, vol. viii., pi. 1, 

 p. 75,) where we characterized a number of additional new species. In 

 1842, Dr. Dekay, (see Nat. Hist, of New York, p. 95,) acceding to this ar- 

 rangement of the Northern Hare, under the specific name of L. Americanus, 

 remarks, " This Hare was first vaguely indicated by Erxleben in 1777." 

 In a spirit of great fairness, however, that author's original description 

 was published at the foot of the article. 



In order to set this matter at rest, remove this species from the false 

 position in which it has so long stood, and give its first describer the 

 credit to which he is entitled, we will here insert the description above 

 alluded to. 



" Lepus Americanus, L. cauda abbreviata ; pedibus posticis corpore 

 dimidio longioribus ; auricularum caudoque apicibus griseis. 



" Die Hasen — Kalm, Hudson's Bay Quadi-up., Barrington, Phil. Trans. 



