THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 870.— December 15th, 1913, 



JAN 10 1914 



BELATIONSHIP OF SPECIES. 



By H. Pan ton. 



It often happens in the observations of the field naturalist 

 or zoologist that a certain curious and typical action or habit of 

 some special animal or group of animals will be noted, and will 

 give to the animals in question a certain individuality. There 

 may even be nothing very definite in this special action, perhaps 

 only some certain mode of carriage or bearing, which can no 

 more be described than the somewhat subtle difference that is 

 very generally apparent to a close observer in what might be 

 termed the typical walking action of the white man and the 

 black. 



Any special attitudes, habits and bearings which appear to 

 be commonly inherent in members of a species, or members of 

 closely allied species, the interested observer comes in time to 

 regard as affinitative, indeed inseparable to these members 

 (perhaps I should confine these remarks to my own personal 

 feelings), and in the surmises and theses that revolve in one's 

 imagination as to the relationships and evolutions of various 

 types one may come to rely, perhaps with too much weight, on 

 these distinctions and similarities as a valuable help in deciding 

 the nearness or divergence of closely connected groups, and one 

 feels tempted, or rather forced, to make especial use of them as 

 indicating those closer relationships not always demonstrable by 

 the usual anatomical tests, and which are therefore chiefly 

 undefinable by tests other than those of congeneric habits. 

 Zool. 4th ser. vol. XVII., December, 1913, 2 M 





