SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



23 



CONTRIBUTED BY G. K. GUDE, F.Z.S. 



" Das Tierreich " (The Animal ]\ingdom. 

 Friedlander, Berlin, 1S96). The German Zoo- 

 logical Society has launched upon the gigantic 

 task of a complete synopsis of the animal kingdom. 

 Since the publication of Linne's " Sestema Naturae," 

 no attempt has been made to deal with all living 

 forms of animal life, yet the number of known 

 species has, since that period, increased so 

 inordinately, that the want of a comprehensive 

 review has become but too painfully apparent to 

 all working zoologists. It is therefore proposed 

 to issue a concise exposition of the animal 

 kingdom, by the review and delineation of all 

 the species that are now living or have become 

 extinct within historic times, and of their systematic 

 groups, which will serve as basis and starting- 

 point of all future systems. This large under- 

 taking will express the present condition of our 

 knowledge, and will be based on a treatment which 

 will partake of the nature of both criticism and 

 compilation. To ensure the completion of the 

 enormous material within a reasonable time, it 

 has been decided to divide the work among 

 a large number of specialists, which will at 

 the same time give each division or group 

 the highest possible scientific standard. The 

 uniform treatment of the various subjects will 

 be controlled by a number of carefully planned 

 rules and regulations. For the naming of 

 forms and systematic groups, the rules adopted 

 by the German Zoological Society will be strictly 

 adhered to ; for abbreviations of names of authors 

 the Berlin list will be taken as basis. The work 

 will be under the general editorship of Geh. Reg. 

 Rat., Prof. Dr. F. E. Schulze, who will be 

 assisted by a committee composed of the President 

 of the German Zoological Society and Geh. Reg. 

 Rat., Prof. Dr. K. Mobius and a number of editors 

 for the chief divisions of the animal kingdom. The 

 following divisional editors have already been 

 appointed : Professor F. Blockmann, of Rostock, 

 for Brachiopoda ; Professor Oscar Boettger, of 

 Frankfurt - on - Maine, for Batrachia ; Professor 

 M. Braun, of Konigsberg, for Platyhelminthes ; 

 Professor O. Biitschli, of Heidelberg, for Protozoa ; 

 Professor C. Chun, of Breslau, for Cnidaria and 

 Ctenophora; Professor F. Dahl, of Kiel, for 

 Arachnoidea; Professor C. W. von Dalla Torre, 

 of Innsbruck, for Hymenoptera ; Professor L. 

 Doederlein, of Strassburg, for Mammalia ; Professor 

 E. Ehlers, of Gottingen, for Bryozoa; Dr. 

 W. Giesbrecht, of Naples, for Crustacea; A. 

 Handlirsch, of Vienna, for Rhynchota and Neur- 

 optera ; Dr. W. Kobelt, of Schwanheim, for 

 Mollusca ; H. J. Kolbe, of Berlin, for Coleoptera ; 

 Dr. H. Krauss, of Tiibingen, for Orthoptera ; 

 Professor R. Latzel, of Klagenfurt, for Myriopoda ; 

 Professor J. Mik, of Vienna, for Diptera ; Dr. G. 

 Pfeffer, of Hamburg, for Fishes ; Professor A. 

 Reichenow, of Berlin, for Birds; Professor F. E. 

 Schulze, of Berlin, for Porifera ; Dr. A. Seitz, of 



Frankfurt-on-Maine, for I^pidoptera ; Professor J. 

 W. Spengel, of Giessen, for Vermes, exclusive of 

 Platyhelminthes and Tunicata. A further list of 

 specialists for the minor divisions is given, several ot 

 which, however, are also editors of the primary 

 divisions. In addition to the well-dcrined species 

 the work will include the enumeration of in- 

 sufficiently described and dubious species, as well 

 as sub-species and varieties, important stages of 

 development, alteration of generations, and 

 specially remarkable biological conditions. The 

 geographical distribution will be given under each 

 species, together with the principal literature, and 

 a complete list of synonyms, so that the work when 

 complete will contain information on every name 

 used in Zoology since the introduction of binomial 

 nomenclature. To facilitate the grasp of the subject 

 systematic synopses and numerous keys for the 

 determination of groups and species will be added. 

 To each separate division will be appended a list 

 of abbreviations used, a systematic index, and a 

 complete alphabetical register. On the completion 

 of each group further indices will be given, and at 

 the end of the whole work, a general index and 

 general register. The language employed will be 

 chiefly German, but in exceptional cases, English, 

 French, or Latin may be used. The work will be 

 published in parts, each of which will treat of 

 one or more related groups, but they will appear 

 independently of any systematic sequence. Thesize 

 of the parts will vary, but will not in any case consist 

 of less than three sheets. For some of the larger 

 groups the number and size of the parts is already 

 announced. For instance, the Platyhelminthes 

 will consist of four, the Crustacea of eleven, the 

 Hymenoptera of thirteen, the Mollusca of fifteen, 

 the Reptilia of three, the Birds of sixteen parts. 

 The completion of the work, it is estimated, will 

 take twenty-five years. Each part can be had 

 separately, and the price will depend on the size ; 

 but to those who undertake to subscribe to all parts 

 published during five years the price will be seventy 

 Pfennig (about gd.) per sheet, and will be some- 

 what less for larger parts, or a trifle more for 

 smaller ones ; the price for separate parts will be 

 increased by one-third. The first part is promised 

 for the commencement of 1S97. In case of a 

 sufficient number of subscribers being found, a 

 separate edition, on writing paper, will be issued. 

 as well as one printed on only one side of the 

 paper. A specimen part has already been issued, 

 treating of the Helicozoa, by Dr. F. Schaudinn. 

 consisting of twenty-four pages including the index 

 and a list of abbreviations of citations exclusive 

 of those contained in the list of the Zoological 

 Record. On considering the period over which 

 the publication of this gigantic work is to be 

 spread, one fact forces itself on the mind, »'.('. that 

 those parts issued towards the end of this period, 

 to whichever divisions or groups they may happen 

 to belong, must of necessity be more complete 

 and up-to-date than those issued earlier, and unless 

 appendices to those earlier parts be given, we fail 

 to see how the absence of uniformity in this respect 

 will be overcome. In whatever way those respon- 

 sible for the production of this immense under- 

 taking will deal with this question, there is no 

 doubt that all zoologists, no matter in what part of 

 the world, will be under a great obligation to the 

 Zoological Society of Germany for initiating siich a 

 work, the utility of which can only be appreciated 

 by those whose sphere of labour happens to be 

 cast amongst the productions of the animal 

 kingdom. 



