THE NAUTILUS. 



VOL. XXVIII. JUNE, 1914. No. 2 



NOTES ON SOME NORTHWEST COAST ACMAEAS. 



BY WILLIAM H. DALL. 



Since Dr. Philip Carpenter's review of the Acmaeas of the North- 

 west Coast (Am. Journ. Conch., II, 1866) all writers on the subject, 

 including myself, have to a large extent, if not entirely, accepted his 

 conclusions as to their nomenclature. 



Having occasion to revise the magnificent series of these shells in 

 the National Museum, I have recently reviewed the whole nomen- 

 clature from the beginning, and to my surprise and dismay found 

 that Dr. Carpenter, in his desire to perpetuate the manuscript names 

 of his friend Thomas Nuttall, had frequently ignored the rules alto- 

 gether, had adopted names which he knew to be preoccupied, and in 

 several cases misidentified early authors' species. Mr. Robson of 

 the British Museum had intimated to me some time ago that the no- 

 menclature of these limpets was in a very bad state of confusion, but 

 until I came to work over them myself I had no realization of the 

 true condition. 



In extenuation it must be remembered that fifty years ago the 

 necessity of strictly conforming to the rules was little appreciated, 

 and many excellent naturalists of that day are responsible through 

 their carelessness for much of the trouble now encountered. 



In reviewing the work of an author who like Eschscholtz gave 

 several names to mutations of the same species, the most acceptable 

 way is to take his first name for the consolidated species and put the 

 others in synonymy. Dr. Carpenter, however, in choosing in such 



