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A reprint of a classical work in the Cambridge Library Collection.
Thomas Pennant (1726-98) was a keen geologist, naturalist and antiquary. Linnaeus supported his election to the Royal Swedish Society of Sciences in 1757, and in 1767 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. His History of Quadrupeds (1793), aimed to promote natural history among a wider readership, originated in an informal index to John Ray's Synopsis of 1693. In his preface, Pennant acknowledges the monumental Histoire naturelle by the Comte de Buffon, as well as works by Klein (1751), Brisson (1756), and particularly the work of Linnaeus, though Pennant strongly disagreed with Linnaueus's classification of primates as including humans with apes. Pennant's two-volume book, beautifully illustrated with over 100 engravings, provides an overview of the state of zoological classification at the end of the eighteenth century. Charles Darwin owned a copy and had it sent to him in South America during the Beagle voyage.
Volume I
Preface
Part I. Hoofed Quadrupeds:
1. Horse
2. Ox
3. Sheep
4. Goat
5. Giraffe
6. Antelope
7. Deer
8. Musk
9. Camel
10. Hog
11. Rhinoceros
12. Hippopotame
13. Tapiir
14. Elephant
Part II. Digitated Quadrupeds:
15. Ape
16. Maucauco
17. Dog
18. Hyæna
19. Cat
Volume II
20. Bear
21. Badger
22. Opossum
23. Weesel
24. Otter
25. Cavy
26. Hare
27. Beaver
28. Porcupine
29. Marmot
30. Squirrel
31. Dormouse
32. Jerboa
33. Rat
34. Shrew
35. Mole
36. Hedge-Hog
37. Sloth
38. Armadillo
39. Manis
40. Anteater
Part III. Pinnated Quadrupeds:
41. Walrus
42. Seal
43. Manati
Part IV. Winged:
44. Bats
Additions
