74 General Notes. 



dorsal blotches, dull vermilion; occipital band, occupying posterior half of 

 parietals, temporals, and anterior row of dorsal scales, orange (being of a light 

 yellow ground-color clouded with vermilion) ; rostral and loreal region 

 more pinkish ; labials white ; light dorsal interspaces primrose yellow, 

 color deepest on median line and fading gradually into white on the first 

 scale row ; borders of vermilion patches jet black ; lateral dusky spots 

 dark brown (being black overlaid with vermilion); whole underside white 

 with mother-of-pearl reflections. Leonhard Stejneger. 



WHY NOT PAR A MAYA? 



In a former paper* I referred to the substitution by Stebbing of Mamaia 

 1904 f for Maja Lamarck 1801, J the latter genus being rightfully abandoned. 

 There is, however, an earlier name than Mamaia, Paramaya de Haan, which 

 has claims to validity. Paramaya first appeared in 1837 on plate XXIV 

 of De Haan's Fauna Japonica, Crustacea, as a subgeneric designation, the 

 type species being called " PISA (Paramaya) spinigera n." This plate and 

 plates E and F were issued with Decas III, pages 65 to 72, according to Bul 

 letin des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles en Neerlande, Leyde, 1838, where 

 the notice appears in the number for August 31, in a list of books published 

 since January 1, 1838. That the date given (1838) is not early enough is 

 evidenced by the fact that the "Ophidii" of the Fauna Japonica which 

 was published at the same time, is noticed in Gelehrte Anzeigen, Miinchen, 

 July 7, 1837. The text of " Decas Tertia " is also dated 1837 at the foot of 

 page 65. 



The type species of Paramaya is congeneric with the type species of 

 Mamaia, M. squinado (Herbst), 1788. 



The name Paramaya remained undisputed until 1839, when de Haan 

 published his " Decas Quarta," including pages 73 to 108. On page 93, 

 appears the caption "MAJA (MAJA) SPINIGERA, n. sp.," followed by "T. 

 XXIV. f. 4. 9 (Paramaya) et T. G.," thus rejecting his Paramaya for 

 Maja. Again in the last issue of his work, in 1849, de Haan publishes 

 under "ERRATA IN TABULIS SPECIERUM," the following, " Tab. XXIV. fig. 4: 

 Maja (Paramaya) spinigera, n.; lege: M. (Maja) spinig." 



The right of an author to the privilege of errata published simultaneously 

 with the error is conceded ; but he can not cancel names at a later date, 

 even in a continuation of the same work, without violating Canon XXXV 

 of the A. O. U. Code, which says, "An author has no right to change or 

 reject names of his own proposing, except in accordance with rules of 

 nomenclature governing all naturalists, he having only the same right as 

 other naturalists over the names he has himself proposed." Ptirmnnyn, 

 therefore, was not obliterated by de Haan, but remained a synonym of 

 Maja until to-day, when it must needs take the place of the older name. 

 Mary J. Ralhbun. 



*Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, XVII, p. 171, 1904. 

 fSpolia Zeylanica, II, pt. V, p. 2, April, 1904. 

 tSyst. Anim. sans Vert., 154, 1801. 



