General Notes. 39 



the genus h,e called Dicotyles and retained the latter name for the one 

 designated Notophorus. 



We may now retain the time-honored names Dicotyles and Dicotylidce 

 and still adhere to rules of priority in the revival of the name Tayassu. 



Theo. Gill. 



The technical name of the Virginia Deer. 



Dr. J. A. Allen* has recently proposed to change the technical name 

 of the Virginia Deer from Odocoileus americanus to Dama virginiana, on 

 the ground that the latter was used by Zimmermannf in correct nomen- 

 clatorial form many years before the proposal of Odocoileus by Rafines- 

 que,^: and in the same year as the publication of the specific name 

 americanus by Erxleben. Zimmermann's terminology, however, is ar 

 ranged with such disregard for the rules of binomial nomenclature that 

 many of the names it includes are not entitled to recognition. A few 

 instances will make this apparent. The genus Canis contains seven 

 species designated as follows: 1. Canis familiaris, 2. Canis lupus, 3. Hyena, 

 4, Hyena maculata, 5. Vulpes, 6. Lupus aureus, 7. Canis thous. The first 

 six species of Viverra are: 1. Ichneumon, 2. Zibetha, 3. Genetta, 4. Fos- 

 sana, 5. Putorius capensis, 6. Viverra tetradactyla. Four of the species of 

 Lepus are entered as follows: 3. Lepus pusillus, 4. Cuniculus, 5. Cuniculus 

 insigniter caudatus, coloris leporini, 6. Lepus capensis. Under Jerboa we 

 find: 1. Mus jaculus, 2. Cuniculus pumilio saliens, 3. Mus longipes, 4. 

 Yerboa, 5. Terboa gigantea. Finally as species of Cervus: 1. Alee, 2. 

 Tarandus, 3. Dama, 4. Cervus Elaphus, 5. Cervus Axis, 6. Cervus procinus, 

 7. Dama Virginiana, 8. Cervus Capreolus, 9. Cervus Pygargus, 10, Cervus 

 (vel potius) Capreolus mexicanus, 11. Cervus camelopardalis. It is obvious 

 that such names as Hyena, Lupus, Putorius, Cuniculus, Terboa, Dama, 

 and Capreolus were not proposed as generic terms, and that they cannot 

 be considered as valid even when by chance they were used for members 

 of modern generic groups. Most of them appear in the index or on the 

 map of geographic distribution, for Zimmermann was consistent in the 

 application of his system, the main feature of which was, in Dr. Allen's 

 own words (1. c., p. 13-14) "....to cite the names given by previous 

 writers as these authors used them, regardless of whether the generic 

 element of the name conformed or not with his own genera." He also 

 made free use of Latinized vernacular names without attempting to 

 harmonize them with his generic terminology. By no code of nomen 

 clature can terms applied in this manner be construed as valid techni 

 cal names. Therefore unless some more cogent reason can be shown for 

 its abandonment the current name Odocoileus americanus should con 

 tinue in use for the Virginia Deer. Gerrit 8. Miller, Jr. 



*Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XVI, pp. 18-20, February 1, 1902. 

 fSpecimen Zoologiae Geographicae, p. 532, also in index and on map, 

 1777. 



\ Atlantic Journal, I, p. 109, Autumn of 1832. 

 Syst. Regni Anim., I, p. 312, 1777. 



