PEEFACE. 



The importance of Natural History, and that of Zoology in particular, being fully appreciated by all liberal 

 minds, no apology is necessary on our part for presenting to the public a New Edition of the " Regne Ani- 

 mal ; " with additions and alterations, corresponding to the more advanced state of the Science, since the 

 publication of that celebrated Work. Indeed, the absence of any accurate or complete Species Animalium, 

 or Systematic Catalogue of Animals, either in our own or any other language, will, it is hoped, render 

 the present undertaking of the highest interest to the Scientific Zoologist. 



The outhne which the Baron Cuvier so ably sketched, as explanatory of his views of arrangement, 

 he chiefly exemplified by noticing such animals as were best kno^vTi to him, wliile the more rare, though not 

 less interesting, species were merely alluded to by referring to the most expensive works on the subject. It 

 will, accordingly, be our care to fill up his outhne with descriptions of all the species which have ever been 

 noticed in any work of authority, and these will either be drawn directly from the living animals, or by direct 

 reference to the original works in our possession, wherein they were first described. Those valuable acqui- 

 sitions which have been made to the science by the discoveries of Audubon, Belanger, Diard and Duvau- 

 CEL, D'Orbigny, Ehrenberg, Harlan, Horsfield, Lesson and Garnot, Le Vaillant, Lichtenstein, 

 The Prince Maximilian of Wied Neuwied, The Prince of Musignano, Quoy and Gaimard, Richardson, 

 RiJppEL, Spix, Smith, Vieillot, Alexander Wilson, &c. &c., together with the acciu-ate materials sup- 

 phed by the able Monographs of Audouin, Brongniart, Frederic Cuvier, De Blainville, Milne- 

 Edwards, E. and I. Geoffroy-St-Hilaire, The Baron Von Humboldt, Gould, Gray, Lamarck, 

 Latreille, Savigny, Swainson, Temminck, Valenciennes, Vigors, and others, will find their proper 

 places in the system ; while such new species as may be discovered during the progress of this pubhcation 

 will be described in supplementary sheets, paged so as to indicate their natural position. Throughout the 

 work the utmost care wiU be taken to clear the system of all those doubtful and imaginary species, with 

 which the inexperience of compilers has hitherto crowded our systematic catalogues. The introductory 

 portion, containing the generahties of the Animal Kingdom, wiU be enlarged by a selection of the most 

 approved physiological views, chiefly from the other writings of the Baron Cuvier, as well as those of the 

 most distinguished British and Continental Writers. 



'&" 



But " a well-executed design," to use the words of M. Temminck, " is always more valuable than the 

 most minute description, especially in those classes of animals where the species are very numerous, and the 

 characters of which are so difficult to define by words ;" and it is accordingly our intention to illustrate this 

 work in a manner worthy of the merits of its illustrious author. The original designs, which are widely 

 scattered throughout numerous foreign works in all ci-\dhzed languages, have been collected together at con- 

 siderable expense, and most of these will be here introduced, with appropriate Enghsh names, for the first 

 time, to the British Student, with scrupulous accuracy and at a moderate price, the whole aiTanged in generic 

 groups, and with appropriate backgroimds. Original Drawings, made by our own Artists, after such unde- 

 scribed hving animals as we are able to meet with, wiU hkewise appear. 



