236 Stejneger Some Generic Names of Turtles. 



Reptiles and Amphibia" (Aun. Philos. (n. s.) X, pp. 193 

 seqv.) published in September, 1825, subdivided Merrem's 

 genus and fixed T. clausa definitely as the type of Terraphene, 

 as he spelled it. Kinosternon he also adopted as proposed by 

 Spix, and in addition he instituted for T. odorata and T. pcnx- 

 sylvanica, a new genus for which he used a manuscript name 

 by Bell, viz, SternotJierus. 



Both of the species which constitute his new genus being 

 congeneric with the type of Kinosternon^ SternotJierus becomes 

 an unconditional synonym of the latter. 



Thomas Bell, whose MS8. name Gray had thus been appro 

 priating, scarcely more than a month later (Zool. Journ., II, 

 No. 7, Oct. 1825, p. 305) used the same name (though spelt 

 slightly different, Sternothaerus) in a somewhat different sense, 

 including in it, besides T. odorata and the conspecific T. boscii, 

 two new species S. trifasciatus and 8. leachiamis. This action 

 ties the name SternotJierus down to T. odorata, if the latter be 

 considered generically distinct from Kinostemon, thus antedat 

 ing AromocJielys. 



The genus which is now usually known as Sternothcerus, 

 therefore, must have another name, and Pelusios of Wag let- 

 (Nat. Syst. Amph., 1830, p. 137) becomes available with P. 

 nigricans for type.* 



The synonymies of these genera, as here mentioned, would then 

 stand as follows: 



Terrapene Merrem. 



1820. Terrapene Merrem, Tent. Syst. Amph., p. 27 (type, as 

 restricted by Gray, Sept., 1825, T. dausa). 



1822. TJierapene Schinz, Citvier's Thierr. Uebers., II, p. 13 

 (emend.). 



1822. Cistuda Fleming, Philos. Zool., II, 270 (no species men 

 tioned). 



1825. TerrapJiene Gray, Ann. Philos. (n. s.) X, Sep., p. 211 

 (err. typogr.). 



*If SternotJierus had not been disposed of by Gray in 1825, it would 

 have stood for the genus now known as Cyclemys, since Wagler in 1880 

 clearly restricted it to C. trifasciata a whole year before Gray applied it 

 exclusively to Pelusios nigricavK. 



