28 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



to select any other species of the original section as the type of his new 

 genus." Mr. Crotch says (Cist. Ent., 1872) "No genus can be considered 

 denned until its type is indicated," but when this is not done by the 

 original author, " I am not inclined to cut the knot by taking the first 

 species, but to trace the genus historically until it has a type given to it ;" 

 and " Cuvier (1799) gives precision to the old genera by characterizing 

 them and indicating their types." 



Let us apply these dicta to Vanessa Antiopaas metamorphosed into Pa- 

 pilio Antiopa by Mr. Scudder. He says: — " The generic name Papilio 

 was applied by Linnaeus to all the butterflies at the foundation of the 

 binomial system of Nomenclature. Fabricius, in his later works, restricted 

 it to the Nymphales and Papilionides. Schrank was the next author 

 to restrict the name, limiting it, in 1801, to most of the Nymphales." 



By Rule 5, or by Mr. Kirby's Rule, the original name having to be 

 restricted to the typical section, Schrank should have left it with some 

 part of the Papilionides of Fabricius, for I suppose no one*can doubt that 

 the swallow-tailed butterflies were the typical section of Linnaeus 

 (Equites), even though his typical species may be in question. Had he 

 bound himself by the ornithological dictum, he would also have restricted, 

 the name to the Papilionides ; Priamus being the typical species. 



By that of Mr. Crotch he would still have been restricted to the 

 Papilionides; making P. Machaon the type, because Cuvier (in 1799) made 

 this species the type of the genus Papilio (and so it is recognized to-day 

 and I hope will be for all future time.) 



But, says Mr. Scudder, " If the laws of priority have any force or 

 meaning, I do not see how we can refuse to acknowledge the claims of 

 Schrank. I select, accordingly, from among the species grouped under 

 Papilio by Linnaeus, Fabricius and Schrank, one of the best known European 

 butterflies as most suitable for the type of the genus." And by this 

 curious process, one of the best known species being selected as the type, 

 we get the astonishing creation Papilio Antiopa. — (Scud.) And this is- 

 equivalent to enunciating another dictum, being the fourth on this head, by 

 which the best known species of a genus is to be the typical. Moreover,, 

 such exceedingly minute definition is given to the new genus that it would 

 appear to be impossible that a second species could ever be embraced 

 within it* 



* I notice that Mr. Scudder speaks of the " insufficiency of their generic descrip- 

 tions " being "the reproach of Lepidopterists." Mr. Wallace, on the other hand > 



