Notes on the Genera of Edentates. 73 



Tama)idua,Yike Cyclolhuru8,\& usually quoted from Thomson's 

 Annals of Philosophy (1. c., p. 343). It Avas, however, merely 

 published in a list of genera as ' Tamandua, Gray, M. R.,' and 

 the only pretense to a description consists of the letters ' M. R.,' 

 referring to Gray's paper in the London Medical Repository. * 

 This paper contains the following list of edentates : 

 " Tamanoir, Myrmecophaga. Lin. M. jubata. Lin. 



Tamandua, Myrmecophaga tamandua. Cuv. 



Ant-eater, Cyclopes, G. Myrmecophaga didactyla. Lin. 



Pargolen [sic], Manis. Manis pentadactyla. Lin." 

 Here Tamandua is merely a common name and stands on an 

 entirely different footing from Cyclopes. A careful examination 

 of this paper will show (1) that the names in the first column of 

 this list are intended as common names, those in the second as 

 genera, and these are followed by the type or included species ; 

 (2) that when the common name is adopted for the genus, it is 

 usually repeated; and (3) that genera are usually (but not 

 always) followed by the authority, e. g., Myrmecophaga Lin. and 

 Cyclopes G. Thus Tamanoir, Tamandua, Ant-eater, and Pangolin 

 are common names, while Myrmecophaga, Cyclopes, and Manis 

 are genera. The first unquestionable use of Tamandua as a 

 genus is in Lesson's ' Nouveau Tableau,' p. 152, 1842, where it is 

 based on Myrmecophaga tetradactyla Linn. But as in the case 

 of Cyclothnrus it is antedated, since Dry oryx Gloger, 1841, and 

 rroleptes^ Wagler, 1830, were also based on M. tetradactyla (of 

 which M. tamandua is a synonym). Uroleptes has priority over 

 Dryoryx, and is apparently the earliest tenable name for the 

 genus. 



*Vol. XV, p. 305, Apr. 1, 1821. 



fNat. System d. Amphibien, p. 36, 1830. 



