3:il) THK CANAUlAN K.NTt)MoU>OIHl'. 



belongs to the thing to which it is assigned, and cannot be emended on 

 account of some error connected with its formation. The decision that 

 caconyms shall not be emended does not imply ihal the rule that names 

 sljould have a respectable L:itin form is not a good one, or that authors 

 need not exercise any care about their construction. One who holds th«t 

 caconyms should not be emended, ought to be careful not to oppress 

 biological nomenclature with linguistic monstrosities. While I have tried 

 to avoid making caconyms, I believe that they should be emended, and 

 that some day they will be. Scientific minds do not have any particuhr 

 reverence for the opinions of their predecessors, particularly the dogmatic 

 ones, and some day the name sharps will have little to do but emend 

 caconyms. Take ihe case of Xenos — Rossi, Kirby, Hoeven, Saunders, 

 Pierce; Xetius — Rye, Cent. Dictionary, Stiles Pierce says Xenos is from 

 ^u'o« or ^tiros'. So Xenos seems to be a caconym for Xenus or Xinus. 

 Pierce decides that it should not be emended. When he decides that it 

 should be imitated it is another matter, but a rather usual and not un- 

 natural consequence of the rule against emendation. Saunders had 

 previously invented Paraxenos and Pseudoxenos. Pierce adds Halnto 

 xenos, Leionotoxenos and Vespiexenos. He says the latter is derived from 

 V^espa and Xenos. Since one word is Latin, it does not seem necessary to 

 insist on a Greek ending for the compound. Ves/axenos looks like a 

 caconym for Vespixenus. 



One objection to caconyms is that they lead to personal reflections. 

 One maybe very careless in his name-making and very careful in his other 

 biological work, but some i)eople may not think so. 



A NEW GEOMFTRin C.EXr.S .AND NEW SPECIES FRO.M 

 THE EXIRE.ME SOLTH-WEST. 



BY RICHARD F. PEARSALL, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 



Several years ago, through the generosity of Dr. John B. Smith, I 

 received a box of (^eometrid specimens, collected in the Arizona Desert, 

 near Yuma, and at Waliera' Station, Calif It was not difficult to find 

 names for most of these, but the following s))ecies have given mc some 

 trouble, since this region might well be supposed to harbour occasional 

 Mexican forms. Having this in mind, I have waited an opportunity to 

 study the Schaus collection at Washington, which did not occur until 

 April of this year. In it, so far as I could discover, in all loo brief an 

 examination, there is no genus or species to represent one at least of them, 



October. 1910 



