The History of Ichthyology 393 



Artedi's genera were retained save Lepturus, which name was 

 changed to Trichiurus. The following new genera were added: 

 Chim<zra, Tetraodon, Diodon, Centriscus, Pegasus, Callionymus, 

 Uranoscopus, Cepola, Mullus, Teuthis, Loricaria, Fistularia, 

 Atherina, Mormyrus, Polynemus, Amia, Elops. The classifica- 

 tion was finally much altered ; the Chondropterygia and Branchi- 

 ostegi (with Syngnathus) being called Amphibia Nantes, and 

 divided into two groups Spiraculis compositis and Spiraculis 

 solitariis. The other fishes were more naturally distributed 

 according to the position of the ventral fins into Pisces Apodes, 

 Jugulares, Thoracici, and Abdominales. The Apodes of Lin- 

 naeus do not form a homogeneous group, as members of various 

 distinct groups have lost their ventral fins in the process of 

 evolution. But the Jugulares, the Thoracici, and the Abdom- 

 inales must be kept as valid categories in any natural system. 



Linnaeus' contributions to zoology consisted mainly of the 

 introduction of his most ingenious and helpful system of book- 

 keeping. By it naturalists of all lands were able to speak of 

 the same species by the same name in whatever tongue. Un- 

 fortunately, ignorance, carelessness, and perversity brought 

 about a condition of confusion. For a long period many species 

 were confounded under one name. This source of confusion 

 began with Linnaeus himself. On the other hand, even with 

 Linnaeus, the same species often appeared under several differ- 

 ent names; in this matter it was not the system of naming 

 which was at fault. It was the lack of accurate knowledge, 

 and sometimes the lack of just and conscientious dealing with 

 the work of other men. No system of naming can go beyond 

 the knowledge on which it rests. Ignorance of fact produces 

 confusion in naming. The earlier naturalists had no concep- 

 tion of the laws of geographical distribution. The "Indies," 

 East or West, were alike to them, and "America" or "India" 

 or "Africa" was a sufficiently exact record of the origin of any 

 specimen. 



Moreover, no thought of the geological past of groups and 

 species had yet arisen, and without the conception of common 

 origin, the facts of homology had no significance. All classifi- 

 cation was simply a matter of arbitrary pigeon-holing the rec- 

 ords of forms, rather than an expression of actual blood rela- 



