INTRODUCTION xxiii 



Nomenclature is the naming of animals, and the groups to 

 which they belong. The object of popular nomenclature, or nam- 

 ing, is to make the place and character of an animal clearly and 

 correctly understood by the greatest possible number of people. 



Scientific nomenclature relates to the use of technical names, 

 in Latin or Greek, in which the general student is not often inter- 

 ested. Whenever through frequent or frivolous changes of scien- 

 tific names, or by the giving of too great a number of them, our 

 knowledge of animals becomes confused and uncertain, scientific 

 classification defeats its own object, and becomes worse than use- 

 less. The observance by technical writers of the fatal rule of 

 priority, by which the most obscure names often are exalted at the 

 expense of more appropriate names in universal use, is rapidly 

 debasing the legitimate value of Latin names generally, and creat- 

 ing wide-spread uncertainty and confusion. 



Latin words are used for most scientific names, because Latin 

 is the universal language of scientific men, the world over; and 

 Latin names are used by all educated nations without change in 

 form. 



In the development of animal classification, the various classes 

 of animals are subdivided into groups which gradually grow smaller, 

 until at last each species is named and placed, thus: 



Classes are divided into Orders : 



Orders are divided into Families: 



Families are divided into Genera (singular = genus) : 



Genera are divided into Species (singular = species) : 



Species are divided into Individuals. 

 As an example, take the Puma, or Mountain "Lion." 



Its Order is FERAE, the wild beasts. 



Its Family is Felidae, the Cats. 



Its Genus is Felis, the true Cats. 



Its Species is concolor, gray. 



Its scientific name, therefore, is Felis concolor. 



