24 General Notes. 



On the name Vespertilio blossevillii. 



In a recent note on the systematic name of the Cuban Red Bat, Dr. .1. 

 A. Allen falls into a very natural error in assuming that the "abstract" 

 in Ferussac's Bulletin, entitled "Mammiferes nouveaux ou peu connus 

 decrits et figures dans 1' Atlas zoologique du Voyage autour du monde de la 

 corvette la Coquille, " etc., was published after the appearance of the 

 Zoology of the 'Coquille'. As a matter of fact, the Zoology of the voyage 

 of the 'Coquille' appeared inlivraisons, beginning with October, 1826; and 

 tome I, pt. I, while dated "1826", was really published between 1826 and 

 1828, the preface actually bearing the date January, 1828. No descrip 

 tive matter appeared before 1827, but plates were issued with the sepa 

 rate parts, and the names on them will stand, except in those cases 

 where an earlier description occurs in Ferussac's Bulletin. In the case 

 of Vespertilio blostevillii, the name dates from Ferussac's Bulletin, VIII 

 (not XIII, as misprinted in the note above mentioned), May, 1826, p. 95, 

 while the earliest reference to Vespertilio bonariensis is plate II, fig. 1, 

 Zool. "Coquille," which appeared in livr. 3 of that work, published in 

 April, 1827. It will be plain, from the above, that Laxiurux bloxxevillii; 

 and not L. bonarienxis is the correct name of the Uruguayan species. 

 Chat. W. Richmond. 



The name of the Aard-Vark. 



In advocating the name Orycteropus afra (Pall.) for the Aard-Vark 

 (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XIII, p. 166) Mr. Rehn has omitted to notice (1) 

 that afra is the feminine of a declinable adjective, and that the mas 

 culine, in agreement with Orycteropus, should be afer, and (2) that the. 

 combination Orycteropux afer has already been occasionally used in Zool 

 ogy, e. g. P. Roy. Soc. XL VII, p. 246 (1890), and P. Z. S., 1897, p. 939. 

 In neglect of the first point, 0. afra has also been used by Flower and 

 Lydekker (Mamm. p. 211, 1891). Oldfield Thomas. 



The name of the Ogotona. 



Mr. Rehn has changed into i\ Pallas' first u in Lepux dauurtcus. As 

 the name comes from the country of the Dauurien (as Pallas calls them) 

 the letter is clearly not a v printed as a u, as is often the case in old 

 works. In addition, the generic name having a feminine termination, 

 the adjectival specific name should also be feminine. The proper name 

 should therefore be, not Mr. Rehn's "Ochotona davuririm" but Ochoto- 

 na dauurica. Oldfield Thomax. 



