7 4 The Badland Formations of the- Black Hills Region 



scientific name refer to some important character, or they ex- 

 press some relationship or resemblance, or indicate some fact 

 of distribution or discovery. Sometimes the meaning is obscure 

 in which case it may be necessary to consult the work of the 

 original author for the interpretation. Often, however, the 

 name needs little explanation other than that given by a good 

 comprehensive dictionary. 



The generic names are usually of classic origin, most of 

 them being Latinized forms of Greek names. They may be 

 either simple or compound words and they often have modify- 

 ing or descriptive prefixes or suffixes. The specific names 

 show a somewhat wider latitude of origin than the generic 

 names. Sometimes they are geographical, sometimes personal, 

 oftentimes descriptive. The following names of badland fossils 

 may serve to illustrate the principle: Procamelus occidentalis 

 Xeidy, an ancestral camel of the new world, described by Leidy; 

 Magacerops brachycephalus Osborn, a short headed animal with 

 a great-horned appearance, described by Osborn; Neohipparion 

 lyhittieyi Gidley, a new world, small horse described by Gidley 

 and named in honor of W. C. Whitney, who, by generous 

 financial aid, greatly advanced the study of fossil horses; 

 Fr otoc eras celer Marsh, a fleet-footed first-horned animal des- 

 cribed by Marsh; Protosorex erassus Scott, a large sized primi- 

 tive shrew, described by Scott. 



It would lead us too far away from the main purpose of 

 this paper to go into the full details of this nomenclature. One 

 additional feature, however, deserves notice in view of its not 

 infrequent perplexity. The individual who first describes a new 

 species is supposed to give it a name which must not conflict 

 with any name used previously for another species. According 

 to the rules governing the matter the name by reason of its 

 priority can not be changed subsequently except for cause. Often 

 in paleontological work where poor or insufficient or aberrant 

 material has been first studied later discoveries have shown 

 errors of description or improper identification in which case 

 a new name may become necessary. The new name, if properly 

 given becomes the accepted name while the old name is referred 

 to as a synonym. In not a few cases, there are several synonyms 

 and not infrequently it is a matter of some conjecture as to just, 

 which is the most appropriate under the circumstances. 



With rare exceptions the animal life of the badland forma- 

 tions of the Black Hills region is restricted to the Vertebrata — 

 the back-boned animals. Aside from turtles of which there are 



