General Notes. 137 



Gray. This, of course, makes the generic name Hyphantornis applicable 



not to the group that currently passes under this name, but to the group 



which Dr. Reichenow called Hypermegethes; so if this be recognized as 



generically distinct from Ploceus and Textor (olim Hyphantornis), its only 



species will stand as Hyphantornis grandis Gray. 



— Harry C. Oberholser. 



NOTE ON THE GENERIC NAMES TEXTOR, ALECTO, AND 



HYPHANTORNIS. 



Messrs. Iredale and Bannerman have recently called attention (Bull. 

 Brit. Ornith. Club, XLI, May 26, 1921, pp. 128-129) to the preoccupation 

 of the generic name Alecto. Incidentally they cited from Lichtenstein a 

 use of the generic name Textor prior to that of Temminck (Nouv. Rec. 

 Planch. Col., II, livr. 54, February 12, 1825, p. [2] to texte of Genus Oriolus 

 Linn, [in text]), and proposed to consider this Textor Lichtenstein (Verz. 

 Doubl. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 1823, p. 24) ex Temminck a tentative synonym of 

 Malimbus Vieillot. Unfortunately, however, Textor here is a nomen 

 nudum. This prior publication of the generic name Textor, to which they 

 refer, appeared in a note headed: '^Huic familiae adnumeranius species 

 sequentes, in museo nostra obvias." The sixth (and last) paragraph of this 

 note reads as follows: "F. textrix n. Textor Malimbus Temm. et Africae 

 species complures. Vel ipsa F. Caffra, phalerata. Oryx, ignicolor, quoad 

 rostri formam hue referendae." From this it is evident that "Textor 

 Malimbus Temm." is not intended as a synonym or a substitute for "F. 

 textrix n.," which precedes it, but merely as one of the species, of which 

 F. textrix and "Africae species complures" are the others. This is still 

 additionally evident from the second sentence of the paragraph of Lichten- 

 stein's above quoted. Furthermore, the specific name malimbus apparently 

 here for the first time appears in print, as we are unable to find that Tem- 

 minck ever used it, and it is here, therefore, a nomen nudum. This being 

 the case, the generic name Textor used here in combination with it is like- 

 wise invalid from this introduction. In view of this, the generic name 

 Textor Temminck, not being preoccupied by Textor Lichtenstein, becomes 

 available for Hyphantornis Gray, as already explained (Oberholser, Proc. 

 Biol. Soc. Wash., XXXIV, March 31, 1921, pp. 78-79); and the generic 

 term Plesiositagra Iredale and Bannerman (Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club, XLI, 

 May 26, 1921, p. 129) is a synonym. 



The correct name to be used for Textor auct. is, of course, Bubalornis 

 Smith, and the proper name for the family Textoridae is Bubalornithidae, 

 as pointed out by Messrs. Iredale and Bannerman; since my use of Alecto 

 and Alectuidae was a mere oversight. 



The present writer's note on the use of Hyphantornis for Hypermegethes 

 Reichenow, now published, which is confirmed by Messrs. Iredale and 

 Bannerman (loc. cit. p. 129), was, it may be worth while to mention, in 

 type beyond recall before the number of the Bulletin of the British Orni- 

 thologists' Club containing their remarks was received in Washington. 

 It was intended for publication with the writer's previous notes on Hyphan- 

 tornis and Textor. — Harry C. Oberholser, 



