Plagiostomata of the Pacific. Pt. I. Fam. Heterodontidae / by N. de Miklouho-Maclay and William Macleay.
- Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay
- Date:
- [1878]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Plagiostomata of the Pacific. Pt. I. Fam. Heterodontidae / by N. de Miklouho-Maclay and William Macleay. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![all, as far as possible, made exact sketches, in order after- wards to identify the species in places where libraries or Museums exist. So, by degrees, a considerable quantity of notes and drawings have accumulated, and of these, after making a critical selection, I intend to publish the more important. In order to satisfy all the demands of Systematic Zoology, I requested my esteemed friend, the Hon. William Macleay, to take in hand the systematic descriptions, as well as the entire editing of the first section of the work, limiting myself, for my part, in addition to the descriptions of the plates, to some anatomical remarks. Since our respective points of view do not agree in all cases, it is possible that considerable contradictions may appear in the text. But the most faithful, and as far as possible, objective representation of the observed facts seems to both of us a sine qua non of scientific investigation, so I believe that the colouring of particular parts of the text (provided on that account with our respective signatures) due to subjective outlook, does not run counter to the demands of a scientific co-partnership. As exact figures, in addition to their greater clearness, render unnecessary long descriptions, I have always put great weight upon them ; yet I must state, in accordance with truth, that I can by no means declare myself satisfied with the accompanying lithographic plates, and have, on that account, determined in future to have all my sketches (those of the Catalogue of the Plagiostomata included) reproduced by means of photo-litho- graphy. There remains for me, in this case, therefore, no other resource than to attempt to correct “verbally,” in the explanation of the plates, the most important inaccuracies of the drawings as com- pared with nature. Besides, the Hon. William Macleay, to whom I am very much indebted for the greater part of the material investigated, I must also express my obligations to Mr. E. P. Ramsay, Curator of the Australian Museum, who has obtained for me material of various kinds for my neurological studies, and has also always allowed me, in the most friendly manner, to make use of (to draw, photo- graph, and measure) the collection under his care, which was [15]](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22367913_0017.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
