Vol. XXII, pp. 125-128 June 25, 1909 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



/^ 



GENERIC NAMES OF SOME CHELYID TURTLES. *► 



BY LEONHAED STEJNEGER. 



The generic name Hydraspis Bell is currently applied to a 

 group of South American Chelyid turtles which has Schweigger's 

 Emys geoffroana as type. This practice is quite erroneous, how- 

 ever. 



The name was instituted by Thomas Bell in 1828 (Journ. 

 Zool., vol. 3, p. 512). In doing so he said: " I had long ago 

 believed that Testudo longicollis might prove to be the type of a 

 genus, and subsequent observations upon several other species 

 has convinced me that the conjecture was correct," and further 

 down, in enumerating the species which he includes in this 

 genus he begins with " Testudo longicollis, which I consider the 

 type." This is consequently a case to which Art. 30, sec. a 

 of the International Rules of Zoological Nomenclature applies 

 directly, viz: " When in the original publication of a genus, 

 one of the species is definitely designated as type, this species 

 shall be accepted as type regardless of any other considerations. 

 (Type by original designation.)" 



It is of no consequence that Bell in another paper printed 

 immediately after the one alluded to aljove, under the genus 

 Hydraspis designates another species as type as follows: ' 'Sp. typ. 

 H. galeata (Testudo galeata. Anct.) " (Journ. Zool. vol. 3, 1828, 

 p. 515), especially since this action of his has nothing to do 

 with the subsequent one of Gray in diverting Hydras^yis to the 

 group represented by E. geoffroana. 



But by designating T. longicollis as the type of Hydraspis, Bell 

 overlooked the fact that Fitzinger two years previously had desig- 

 nated the same species as type of Chelodina. In his Neue Clas- 



19— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. XXII, 1909. (125) 



