vi PREFATORY NOTE TO EIGHTH EDITION, 
The corrections in the Reptiles and Batrachians have 
been made on the plates, from data kindly furnished by 
Dr. Leonard Stejneger, and Dr. Oliver P. Hay of the 
Smithsonian Institution, and by Dr. John Van Denburgh 
of the California Academy of Sciences. A few additional 
species are inserted in an appendix, the descriptions 
having been furnished by Dr. Stejneger. “The Birds” is 
revised to follow the generally accepted nomenclature of the 
American Ornithologists’ Union. “The Mammals” has 
been fully revised and is printed from new plates. The 
nomenclature has been carefully corrected in accordance 
with the views of Mr. T. S. Palmer of the Department of 
Agriculture. ‘The Cetaceans” has been revised by Mr. 
Frederick W. True of the United States National Museum. 
Two of my own students, Mr. William Weightman Price 
and Mr. Walter Kenrick Fisher, have assisted me in the 
revision of the account of the Mammals and the compila- 
tion of the additional descriptions needed to bring the 
work fairly up to date. 
DAVID STARR JORDAN, 
Leianp Sranrorp Jr. University, 
Pato ALTO, CALIFORNIA. 
March, 1899. 
