A check-list of the mammals recorded from Australia

INTRODUCTION.MORE than three centuries have passed away since Pelsart in 1629 provided the first known description of an Australian pouched animal, and, although over 400 species and subspecies of mammals, marsupial and otherwise, have since been described, the present work is the first to assemble in a comprehensive taxonomic list the mammalian orders indigenous to Australia and the adjacent seas.Much care has been devoted to supplying the original references to species, thus avoiding the reiteration of extensive synonymic lists, while the essential generic references are quoted in a manner adequately stabilising the name to be accepted.A feature especially helpful to fellow-workers is the listing of authentic type localities, as those of many of the earlier species have hitherto been either overlooked or misquoted, and wrong conclusions have resulted therefrom.A very natural result of the early recognition of the extraordinary interest of the Australian fauna was that collections made by explorer-naturalists, officials, and settlers went overseas to be described and stored away for all time.Until recently, therefore, much of the mammalian research has been carried out abroad, and Australian workers have been troubled by the fact that many species are known only by meagre descriptions of material which is rarely illustrated and mostly unrepresented in their collections.Further confusion arose from the fact that for many years no attempt was made accurately to localise individual discoveries, so that a vast amount of field-work must be carried out in order to check not only the identity but the actual survival and present range of many species.No student of Australian mammalogy, however, can fail to be impressed by the magnitude of the work accomplished by John Gould, and the wide knowledge he gained in the early days of various parts of the continent and the habits of its quaint denizens, which led to the preparation of the three wonderful volumes of "The Mammals of Australia."The authors also pay tribute to those past and present workers who have devoted much ability and energy to furthering a knowledge of the fascinating mammalian fauna.Amongst the earlier workers were Gerard Krefft and Dr. E. Pierson Ramsay, past Curators of the Australian Museum.In the nineties J. Douglas Ogilby was engaged by the Museum Trustees to prepare a "Catalogue of Australian Mammals," published in 1892, a compilation which, though providing a useful basis, suffered from the author's lack of experience of the subject, and his failure to consult the important collections already available in the Museum.While a member of the Museum staff, Edgar R. Waite contributed some important work upon the mammals, notably in association with Professor Baldwin Spencer, who also named some important discoveries, on the collections of the Horn Expedition to Central Australia.