History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

PREFACE.IXdinary observer could perceive little utility. In this retrogrademovement of British naturalists Mr Pennant led theway, and the completion of his British Zoology,m four volumes,in 1777, gave a new aspect to the science in this country.This naturalist possessed favourable means for study, and noinconsiderable share of industry; but being rather deficient ina knowledge of physiology, he unfortunately seems to haveundervalued all that his predecessorshad gleaned in that fruitfulfield, and confined his labours chieflyto an acquaintancewith the external characters of animals. He succeeded in impartingto his writings a considerable degree of popularity, byavoiding all minute details, and introducing occasional remarkson the habits of and particular species; byallusions to Greekand Roman authors, he interested the classical reader. In hisaccount of the Vertebral Animals, his materials were chiefly derivedfrom the writingsof Willoughby, Ray, and Sibbald,of the Shells. It iswhile Lister supplied the groundworkin the class Crustacea that Mr Pennant appears chiefly as anoriginal author, earning reputation in a departmentof thescience which his predecessors had in a great measure neglected.The Spiders, Insects, and Zoophytes,did not engage his attention.In order to facilitate the researches of the student ofzoology, Dr Berkenhout published abridgedthe speciesin 1769, under the " title Outlines" fyc.Britishcharacters ofand a thirdedition more enlarged,in 1795, included in the " Synopsis of'the Natural History of Great1 ''Britain and Ireland.' In thefirst volume of this work, the characters of the speciesof BritishAnimals are drawn up with a degree of care and accuracyunequalled in any subsequent publicationof a similar kind.In 1802 Mr Stewart attempted a similar work, on a moreenlarged plan, in two volumes, entitled Elements of the NaturalHistory of the Animal Kingdom. This work includes,besides the British species, the characters of the more commongenera of foreign animals. A new edition appeared in 1817,deficient, however, in the account of the more recently publishedspecies,and in some instances faulty by introducing the samespecies twice under different genera.b