Centimeters 



Figure 2. — (a) Crassosirea angulata, Arcachon, France. Dimensions: lieight 'J cm., length 5 cm. 

 (b) C. virginka, Brownsville, Tex. Dimensions: height 8.5 cm., length 4.5 cm. 

 Note similarity of the two forms. 



ogists(Ranson, 1948a) who requested the Interna- 

 tional Commission to suppress the name ' ' Gryphaea" 

 (Lamarck 1801) as applied to fossil species and to 

 vahdate tlie name "Gryphaea." (Lamarck 1819) 

 which included the living oysters. The American 

 zoologists (Gunter, 1950) were in favor of retaining 

 the name "Gryphaea" for fossil forms. 



The findings of the Liternational Commission, 

 published as Opinion 338 on March 17, 1955, are as 

 follows: 



Gryphaea Lamarck, 1801, is available for the 

 purposes of the Law of Priority and has as its type 

 species the Mesozoic Fossil species G. arcuata 

 Lamarck, 1801, by selection by Anton (1839), 

 and not G. angulata Lamarck, 1801, which was 

 selected by Children in 1823, this latter name 

 being a nomen ntidmn (not having been published 



with an indication for the recent species to which 

 it is applicable until 1819). 



"This nominal species Gryphaea angulata La- 

 marck, 1819, is not the type species of any nominal 

 genus, but the generic name Crassosirea Sacco, 

 1897, is available for use for that species by those 

 specialists who regard it as congeneric with Ostrea 

 viryinica Gmelin, (1790) (the type species of 

 Crassosirea Sacco) and who do not refer both species 

 to the genus Ostrea Linnaeus, 1758." 



The names Gryphaea Lamarck, 1801, Cras- 

 sosirea Sacco, 1897, arcuata Lamarck, 1801 {Gry- 

 phaea) and angulata Lamarck, 1819 {Gryphaea) 

 were placed on the Official Lists of Generic Names 

 and Specific Names respectively and the nomen 

 nudum angulata Lamarck, 1801 {Grypnaea) was 

 placed on the Official Luie.x of Rejected and Invalid 

 Names in Zoology. 



TAXONOMY 



